Harry Potter and The Scrolls of Merlin
by MrZ1289
Summary: With Harry's disappearance, Xavier and Hermione are left to help decide the war. But will Harry bring back with him something that could end the war?
1. Prologue and Notes

We are officially half way through the Merlin Saga (my name for these four stories). No, Harry is not going permanently. However, it may be awhile before we hear from him again. The first part of this story is going to deal with Hermione and Xavier and how they support each other in the fact that they're the only ones left to win the war.

I will hopefully be better about continuing to update this story. The last one took me the better part of a year to write. I don't want that to be the case again.

I hope you enjoy the Scrolls of Merlin. But, just wait because the fourth (tentatively titled The Hammer of Thor) is going to be awesome!

Happy Reading,

Zac


	2. Unity

06/17/2006

She had gone there first thing in the morning every day this week. Every time, she hoped that she would see one of them. She had hoped that Ron's red head would come up the stairs or that Harry's silhouette would appear, flying back to Hogwarts on the horizon. Sadly, the Astronomy Tower hadn't given her any of that. No matter how hard she had wished, Ron was dead and Harry had left.

However, this particular morning, the Tower had given her something different. As she had stood there, staring at the sunrise, a strong, silent man strode calmly up the stairs to stand beside her. While not the same as Ron or Harry, Xavier's presence alone was comforting.

"You need to stop doing this." Xavier stated.

"I can't. It's all I can do to stay here. He's out there somewhere and I pushed him there." Hermione replied calmly.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. I found this when I looked through Harry's things for clues." Xavier said, handing her a small letter.

The handwriting was instantly recognizable as that of Albus Dumbledore's.

_Harry,_

_I believe that I have located the object in question. I will meet you in Berlin tomorrow. I am sorry to learn of the death of Ron Weasley. I know how close you two were. I implore to you the importance that this object will have on the war. Please, explain the situation to those around you and come to me._

_I wait your reply._

_Albus_

"Dumbledore found something?" Hermione replied with confusion.

"Yeah. I think I have a general idea what." Xavier stated.

"What?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"There are rumors that towards the end of his life, Merlin had the history of his life chronicled. That they held secrets to magic untold. It's been thought that whoever would find them would acquire the knowledge to take over the world." Xavier replied.

"Or to beat Merlin himself." Hermione added.

"Also true. Now come on, we have a meeting to attend." Xavier said motioning down the stairs.

* * *

The Council had changed immensely in recent times. Gone were Harry and Ron, replaced with the leaders of the foreign military. It was with a heavy heart that Xavier started the meeting.

"As everyone knows, our last mission was a success." Xavier said without emotion.

"A success? How dare you call it a success!" Percy Weasley shouted out.

"We set out to obtain the services of Mr. Ollivander and the goblins of Gringotts. We did both. As such, it was a success. We did lose Ron but the loss of one life does not decide the failure or success of a mission."

"That's my brother!" Percy yelled, drawing his wand. Xavier quickly drew his and silently disarmed Percy.

"Percy, I understand your rage. I do. But, it's not helping. If you can't keep your anger in check, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Xavier said sharply as he threw Percy his wand back. "I know that things are going to be difficult for you guys for awhile. However, we can't let that stop us. We have information that Voldemort is assembling forces on the French shore. We also are hearing rumors that he has allied with a group of American radicals to help them take over the American ministry. Obviously, he plans on extending his grasp."

"What can we do?" Bill Weasley asked softly.

"We can open the castle back up. Tell people to come here as long as they're willing to submit themselves to a security check of our own. Also, they need to be willing to help us. We also need to make individual communication between people as secure as possible. Every letter sent and received by any person in this castle needs to be checked by someone else." Xavier answered swiftly.

"But doesn't that leave us open to attack?" Ginny called out from the back of the room.

"Yes, but I don't think Voldemort has enough of his forces amassed to take us on here. When he comes here, he'll want it to go quick and easy." Xavier replied.

"So, we just send out a message that says that the doors of Hogwarts are going to be opened again?" Hermione asked. Xavier thought she had been surprisingly quiet this meeting. That was the first time she'd said anything.

"Yes." Xavier replied simply.

"I shall check with the Dark Lord to see what his plans are. However, I am going to need something to give him in return." Snape said softly. "What am I authorized to tell him?"

Xavier thought for a moment before he answered him.

"You can tell him that we plan on reopening the castle. However, tell him that only Hermione and I know when." Xavier replied.

"Sounds good." Snape replied.

"If there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Whatever she did, she always seem to float to the same spots. The Quidditch pitch, Hagrid's hut, the lake, and the Tower. Hermione had spent her evenings just as she spent her mornings. Alone. For the first time in her whole Wizarding life, she felt alone. Harry had disappeared. Ron was dead. While the Weasleys had done their best to keep her included in things, they just were the same family that they had been before.

They were broken, fractured from the loss of another son. She knew that Ginny had to be feeling sort of the same way. However, Harry would one day come back. Ron was gone forever.

Ron was all she could think about. She barely participated in the Upper Council meetings anymore. All she could do was stare at the chair to Harry's right where Ron had always been located. She couldn't sleep in her bed, the bed that Ron had visited her in so many times since their exile to Hogwarts. Even when she walked to clear her mind, she went to places that the Trio had frequently spent time.

Even Hagrid was gone. He spent most of his time in the forest, avoiding everyone else. He seemed to feel like Harry was his only real connection to us and with him gone, he felt out of place. So, his hut spent most of its time dark and empty.

The Quidditch Pitch brought back even harder memories. Ron turning green with nerves and then saving the day. Harry choking on a Snitch and having his limbs removed by Lockhart. The bucking broom.

However, Hermione noticed something that she hadn't noticed out there before. In the center of the pitch was a grave. Hermione slowly approached it, wary of who it may be. Finally, she got close enough to read it.

_Demelza Robins  
1982-2006__  
"One man by himself is nothing. Two people who belong together make a world."_

_Just as she finished reading the last line, she heard something behind her. Instinctively, she drew her wand and spun on the spot, firing a string of curses. However, none of them hit their mark as her target simply blocked them all. She looked in the darkness and instantly recognized her attack as Xavier Mitchell._

_"Hi, Hermione." Xavier said softly._

_"Xavier, what are you doing out here?" Hermione asked sharply._

_"I still come to visit her every night. I can't bring myself to go a day without her." Xavier said sadly._

"Did you do this, Xavier?"

"Of course. While everyone else liked her, they respected her, I loved her. She was the first person who made me feel like more than just a weapon. Then, just as quickly as she was there, she was gone." Xavier said as a small tear slipped from his eye.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't even know that you two were together."

"Well, neither of us were very social. We didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it was."

Together, they stood in silence. Hermione began to realize that Xavier was definitely more than he seemed. If how he felt about Demelza was true, he was also the only person in the castle who could truly understand what she was going through.

"What was it like, Xavier? When you lost her?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I didn't lose her, Hermione. She was taken from me." Xavier said, tears now flowing freely. "I killed her."

"Why?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Didn't you see her after we got back from the Ministry? She was lost! There was nothing that anyone could do for her." Xavier mumbled through his tears.

"I think you did something for her. You set her free." Hermione offered.

"What does it matter?" Xavier shot back sharply.

"It matters because it showed how much you truly cared for her. You were unselfish enough to let her go. If you had held on to her, you would have mocked the memories you had of her." Hermione replied.

Again, there was no reply as they stood in silence under the moon. Neither of them wanted to admit that they needed the other. That in order to get through the difficult time ahead, they would need to lean on each other and to rely on each other. They didn't want to admit it but they needed to. Finally, Hermione broke.

"I could really use someone to talk to, Xavier. I really love the Weasleys, but they're trying to deal with this too. I can't even talk to Ginny about it because Harry left." Hermione said, a perfect delicate nature in her voice.

"I know, Hermione. This whole running a war thing is killing me. I need someone to help me. Someone who can keep me as normal as possible." Xavier replied, a certain strength returning to his voice.

"Well, let's go back inside and get some food from the kitchen. Then, we can talk." Hermione offered.

"Ok." was Xavier's simple reply as he put his arm around Hermione. From there, they silently returned to the castle, basking in the support of another.

* * *

06/20/2006

Three days had passed since the last meeting of the Upper Council, but Xavier had managed to keep himself busy. He had continued to scout out new locations for bases for the NOA. They always need a backup in case Hogwarts was lost. Also, he and Hermione had managed to put an Undectable Extension Charm on the far wall of the dungeons, allowing for an unlimited amount of bed space. He was in his office working on his report for the next Upper Council meeting when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." he said sharply without looking up from his work. Almost without acknowledging him, Hermione pushed the door open and walked in. She had been spending a lot of her free time in his office, just to keep her mind off of things.

"Today's the day." she said. They had decided that today would be the day they opened the castle back up. It would only be open at night and you couldn't Apparate to anywhere but the front gate. You were then walked the door by a host of NOA members.

"Yeah, is the security done?" Xavier asked carefully.

"Yeah, we will need you to be here to take care of them when they get inside but from the gate the castle, they should be fine."

"Good. Now, do you remember what I told you?" Xavier asked, straightening up in his chair and looking up for the first time.

"Yes, Xavier. If Lord Voldemort shows up or anyone else, just run." Hermione said, mocking his deep voice.

"Good. We can't afford to lose you, Hermione."

"We or you?" Hermione asked playfully.

"Both. You're a good leader and you keep me from going insane." Xavier said as he returned to his work.

"Ok then. Any word from Harry?" Hermione asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"No. I imagine we'll hear from him when he's back." Xavier said glumly.

"Xavier, I...I want to go look for him." Hermione said, staring at the floor.

"What?"

She now had Xavier's full attention. Hermione, in only three days, had definitely become Xavier's best friend in the castle. She was the only other person that really knew what he was going through. She also understood the strength he needed to make the decisions he made, having been a Minster of Magic herself. The thought that she would leave shocked him.

"I want to go find him and bring him back." she stated more confidently.

"Hermione, I need you here. You're the leader of our government. You are one of, if not the most, respected person in the whole Wizarding world. We need you here." Xavier said, almost pleading.

"You said I." Hermione replied shortly.

"I did?"

All Hermione did was nod.

"I did. I did say that I need you. You keep me from thinking about how much I miss Demelza. You keep me from thinking that this war can't be won. You keep me from leaving myself. I am never one to run away from a fight, Hermione. But, this fight is awful. It's worse than the first time around. Everyone we need is dead or missing or something. We're already working on reserves. I can't do this alone, Hermione. I need you. I hate that I have to admit that. But, I need you." Xavier said, his eyes electric.

"I know, Xavier. You do the same thing for me. But, without Harry, we're not going to be able to beat him. We need him more than either of us."

Xavier sat in silence as he processed what she was saying.

"I'll send him and Albus some messages to see if I can find them. But, can you promise me that you'll wait a couple more weeks before you leave? For me?" Xavier asked, obviously uncomfortable with how much emotion he was displaying.

"I can wait, Xavier. I can't go leaving you alone. You might burn down the castle." Hermione said, a small smile forming on her face.

"Agreed and now that you're done scaring the life out of me, we need to go start getting people from the front gate." Xavier said, relief flooding his face.

"Agreed." Hermione replied. Together, Xavier and Hermione made their way to the Great Hall. All Xavier could do was think about how quiet Voldemort had been since his declaration. Whatever he was waiting for, Xavier didn't like it. But, right now, the only thing they could do was gather their strength for the coming storm.


	3. Hellfire

06/21/2006

It was during roll call the next morning that he realized that things weren't the way they should have been. It was tradition for each squad to report to their captain each morning to make sure they were still within the castle. After breakfast, each of the captains would come to me and tell me that everyone was here. However, that didn't happen on this morning. First, it was Fleur

"Xavier, I am mizzing Elphias Doge. No one haz zeen 'im and I cannot locate 'im." she said softly, knowing this wasn't good information.

"Thank you, Fleur. I'm sure he will show up."

However, this was when Xavier noticed that that three other captains were approaching the front of the table where he was located.

"Lavender Brown is gone." Bill said, reaching the table first.

"Anthony Goldstein is missing from my squad." Percy also added calmly.

"Padma Patil and Marietta Edgecombe were missing from my squad, as well." Charlie added, finally approaching the table.

Instantly, Xavier stood and magically allowed his voice to boom around the Great Hall.

"UPPER COUNCIL! ENTRANCE HALL NOW!" Xavier said, allowing a little edge to enter his voice.

Within a second, the eleven members were screaming to the entrance hall. Moments later, everyone was there.

"Who was in charge of organizing personal for getting people into the castle last night?" Xavier demanded.

"I was, Xavier." Draco Malfoy answered.

"Did you do a personal check on our people when we were done?" Xavier asked, anger finally creeping to the surface.

"No. We thought we got everyone back." Draco replied sharply.

Xavier drew his wand and fired a shot at the feet of Malfoy.

"We can't afford these kind of mistakes! We're already working uphill, damn it! Squad captains, get your people out of the Great Hall now. We're going to go look for them. Were they together?" Xavier finally asked Draco.

"Yes. They were." Draco said shortly.

"Great. Fan out and find them!" Xavier shouted. Instantly, he turned to leave.

He didn't like letting his anger take control of him like that. He felt like his brother. Everyday, he worked hard to keep from becoming like Rich.

"Xavier..." a soft voice that he instantly recognized spoke up behind him.

"What, Hermione?" Xavier said, harsher than he wanted to.

"It's not your fault. It was an accident." Hermione said softly, turning his around to face her.

"I know. That makes it worse. I don't make mistakes. I double-check everything. I do everything I can to avoid making mistakes. Because if I make mistakes, we lose lives. Lives we can't afford to lose. I can't sit there and hold everyone's hand. I can't be there for them all the time. I trusted Draco with this. I told them to decide who was going to run this. Draco volunteered. And he screwed it up. We can't have accidents."

"Xavier, not everyone is you. Not everyone can be Harry, who you trusted more than anyone around here. You have such high expectations."

"We need high expectations! If we don't, we're dead. We have to be perfect, Hermione! Every time we're not, someone dies. Even if we are, someone can die. When Demelza died, our plan when exactly how we planned it. We did everything we set out to do, planned for everything. They still killed her! When we went to Diagon Alley, everything went exactly as we wanted it to. We knew we only had a limited amount of time. We were almost exactly perfect without much time we had! Ron is still dead!"

"I know, Xavier. You think that I don't understand how important it is for us to be perfect? Ron had proposed to me just earlier that day. We were ready for the rest of our lives. I think he knew then that he was going to go if Harry or you were in trouble. I know that we have to be perfect. But, we never will be. We're still just human." Hermione said, tears in her eyes.

Hermione slowly approached Xavier and put her arms around him. With surprising strength, she pulled him closer to her.

"Xavier, I know we have to be perfect. We all do. We just need someone who will be there for us. That has to be you. You fought Merlin one on one and beat him. You could duel with Lord Voldemort and survive. Right now, you're the best we have."

Xavier pulled Hermione just far enough away from him so that he could look her in the eye.

"I don't think I can be that, Hermione."

"Why not?" Hermione replied, her soft voice emanating throughout Xavier's body.

"Because of my brother. I fight with myself everyday to not turn into him. The only way I know how to control myself is to avoid contact with people and just be the strong, silent leader." Xavier said sadly.

"Just because you listen to your emotions doesn't mean you will turn into him. You could use your emotions to help those who need, not to destroy. How did Demelza do it?" Hermione asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"Do what?"

"Get so close to you."

"I'm not sure. All I know is that it hurt more than anything I've ever experienced when she died. I can't deal that happening with someone else."

Hermione looked at Xavier for a moment before responding.

"Xavier, Ron has been dead a little less than two weeks. The only reason I've been able to move on at all is you. I know that you're dealing with the same thing that I am. You keep me strong, Xavier. You have saved my life and more than just when I jumped off the Astronomy Tower. You do it everyday." Hermione said softly.

"I just hope that ,in the end, I'm good enough, both for you and for everyone else." Xavier said, staring off into the distance.

"I know you will be. Now, let's go help the others look." Hermione said with a small smile.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Xavier and Hermione were outside, helping the others search for the missing NOA members when suddenly someone yelled out.

"They're over here!" Bill Weasley suddenly shouted out over the grounds.

Xavier immediately turned and sprinted over to where he had heard the voice, hoping for the best and fearing the worst. As Xavier got closer, he could see that no one was approaching a single area. Xavier could read the body language of those around it and it wasn't good.

When Xavier was finally in view, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Four bodies were tied around trees at the edge of the forest. Each one had numerous cuts and bruises, suggesting that they had been tortured before they were killed. One of them was missing a foot and another one, a hand. But, that wasn't even the worst of it.

Xavier finally stepped closer to realize what he had considered to be impossible. One of them was still alive. He stepped forward and saw the face of Padma Patil finally raise up to his level. She was crying and couldn't stop shaking.

"Xavier...please." she said without strength.

"I'll help you, Padma. Just hold still." Xavier said. Padma had been one of his favorite Ravenclaws during his time in school. Always smart and witty without being annoying, she was usually the life of the room. While Xavier hadn't been very social, Padma was definitely one of the few people he would have called a friend. They fell out of touch when Xavier left school but he had always held a small spot for her in his heart.

"Xavier...please...please...please." she repeated.

Xavier fumbled with his wand before he finally was able to pull it out and get rid of the ropes that held her to the tree. He grabbed her and slowly let her fall to the ground. She continued shaking and it was all Xavier could do to look at her. On a normal day, she was beautiful. Today, she was naked, cut, bruised, and beaten. Xavier didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't help but think that she had also been sexually assaulted.

"Xavier...please...please." she repeated once more.

"Please what?" Xavier asked in frustration.

"Please...kill me."

Suddenly, he snapped. Xavier was done playing games. He stood and turned to Draco.

"Malfoy, you're in charge until I get back. Granger and Weasleys, you're coming with me. Viktor and Zachary, take her back inside and get Madam Pomfrey to clean her up. Then, come back and move the other three to near the White Tomb. We'll bury them when we get back." Xavier said as he strode back towards the castle.

Hermione caught up with him and had just enough breath to ask him a simple question.

"What are we doing?" she asked in fear.

"Burning down the Ministry." was his simple answer.

Hermione stopped in her place.

"You can't be serious." she said sternly.

"Totally. They're using torture. I'll use terrorism." Xavier said sharply.

"But, then you're just sinking down to his level." Hermione shot back.

"I know! But, he has to know that we're afraid of him. We can't be. We need him to be afraid of us. Afraid of what we can do together and what we can do together is burn the Ministry down." Xavier replied harshly.

"But, people will die..."

Instantly, Xavier turned back to Hermione.

"This is war, Hermione! People are going to die! Better them than us!" Xavier said. Then, he turned to the Weasleys.

"I'm leaving now. Are you coming with me?" Xavier asked.

All of them nodded strongly.

"And you?" Xavier asked as he turned on Hermione.

Hermione looked down for a moment before replying.

"You give the orders. Just promise that we won't kill anyone that's innocent."

"I promise, Hermione." Xavier replied as he grabbed her, completing the circle of arsonists. With a single twist, they were gone.

* * *

In an instant, they were in London. Xavier let go of everyone else and strode strongly towards the bathrooms that acted as the entrance to the Ministry. He strode inside and pulled out his wand.

"If you don't fully support Lord Voldemort, I suggest you don't go to work today." Xavier said loudly.

Within seconds, most of the bathroom emptied out. However, three people, two men and one woman, stayed behind.

"What if we do support Lord Voldemort?" he said menacingly as he drew his wand.

"Then, you're going to die." Xavier said softly before launching into his first assault. It wasn't even close. Even combined, the three of them didn't stand a chance against Xavier.

They each launched as many spells as they could but nothing could penetrate Xavier's defenses. Suddenly, it seemed as if Xavier had had enough playing around.

"_Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" _he yelled sharply. While two of them hit their targets, the one woman of the group was just quick enough to block it.

"You support Lord Voldemort?" Xavier asked her softly. "Why?"

"Muggles are a disease. Lord Voldemort will get rid of them. Muggles are worthless creatures. I know that when Lord Voldemort rules the world, we won't have to hide anymore and we will rule the world as we should!" she said madly.

"Typical Voldy crazy." George replied smartly.

"How dare you disrespect the Dark Lord?" she asked incredulously.

"You have to earn it." Xavier said before attacking again.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The woman had no chance as the green light hit her square in the chest. Her body fell backwards and hit the floor with a thud. Xavier stepped over her and entered the first stall.

"Once you get in, destroy anything you can. When we leave, I'll burn the place down." Xavier said.

"Xavier..." Hermione replied.

"Hermione, if you aren't ok with this, wait here. I'm doing this." Xavier shot back strongly.

"Xavier, I'm going with you." Hermione said, an edge forming in her voice.

"Good. Stick with me, guys." Xavier said as he flushed himself into the Ministry.

* * *

Only moments later, their whole group was standing in the Atrium. Xavier turned around and looked at his group.

"I'll send my Patronus when we need to leave. If you see Merlin or Voldemort, you are to call me or get out. Are we clear?" Xavier instructed as each person in the group slowly nodded.

Suddenly, someone in the Atrium spoke up.

"Is that Hermione Granger?" said the unknown voice.

"Go!" Xavier yelled as he blew up a chandelier than hung above them. Instantly, it was pandemonium. Desks flew through the air at dangerously high speeds as people screamed and ran.

Xavier pressed hard into the first room, the Magical Maintenance office. Xavier turned and pointed at the desks lining the far wall.

_"Incendio!"_

Quickly, the far wall was covered in flame. However, Xavier's rage wouldn't be settled by that. He again struck at the flame.

_"Engorgio!" _

Suddenly, the room turned into a massive fireball. Xavier quickly exited the room as the fire engulfed everything. Moments later, the fire spilled out of the Magical Maintenance department and into the Atrium. Xavier quickly scanned the Atrium and noticed that none of the other NOA members were still around. Satisfied with the damage he had created on the entrance level, he ran to the lifts and headed up two floors to the Department of Magical Transportation.

Once the lift stopped, Xavier exited swiftly and made his way to the nearest group of offices. He stepped inside and was instantly noticed by some of the men and women in the room.

"That's not the Mitchell we know." one of the men said.

"No." Xavier inserted. "It isn't."

Xavier swiftly pointed his wand at the floor in front of him.

_"Confringo!"_

Without warning, the floor in the middle of the room collapsed causing all those in the center area of the room to fall to Level 9. Then, Xavier pointed his wand at the rest of the room and as people scattered away from him, he attacked again.

_"Incendio!"_

What was left of the room was now set on fire. Xavier was just about to leave when he noticed that he wasn't warm by the fire at all. In fact, in the heat, he could see his breath. He turned around to see around 30 Dementors flying silently towards him. Xavier didn't need to ask what would follow them shortly.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

Xavier's eagle flew out of the end of his wand and back to him.

"I need you back here in 30 seconds. Tell the others that Dementors are here. Voldemort probably following soon. Get out."

With that, the eagle nodded and screamed passed the Dementors. Xavier knew that allowing his Patronus to leave probably wasn't in his best interest. But, he also knew that he had to get everyone out, especially Hermione.

It seemed like forever as the wall of Dementors closed in on him. It got colder and colder as they got closer. It got so cold that ice began to form on the walls. Xavier did his best to focus his attention on happy things but with the way things had been going recently, they were hard to come by.

Suddenly, he heard a voice.

_"You are alone, Xavier. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone..."_

The voice rang in his head. He could see Demelza's empty eyes. He could see Hermione falling from the Astronomy Tower with no one to catch her.

_"Alone. She is dead. They are all dead." _

All Xavier could do was sit and wait. There was nothing to do. He had no way of fighting back. And all he could see and hear were his nightmares.

_"You are alone, Xavier Mitchell. I will kill you."_

_**"We shall protect you."**_

Suddenly, another voice popped into his head. This voice wasn't anything like the dark, hollow voice that had been filling his head. Instead, this voice was warm and comforting.

**_"We will give you strength, Xavier. We will protect you. We will fight."_**

This voice came from his head as well. It gave him strength, just like it said. Xavier could feel again. Small amounts of warmth returned to his fingers and toes. Xavier looked up and noticed his silver eagle flying back towards him. Moments later, it soared over the Dementors and landed in front of him. Then suddenly, a small, silver otter came running past the Dementors as well and took up arms next to the eagle.

**_"We will fight for you, because you fight for us. You are a great leader, Xavier, and we will follow you to the end of the earth."_**

It was then that Xavier recognized the source of the voice. Just passed the darkness, Xavier saw Hermione standing there, wand at the ready to direct her Patronus.

_"How long have you been in my head?" _Xavier asked.

**_"Long enough to keep you from getting the life sucked out of you." _Hermione's voice rang out in his head.**

**_"Can we get rid of the Dementors now?"_ Xavier asked softly.**

**Xavier looked through the Dementors to see Hermione nodding, a soft smile forming.**

**_"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _**

Instantly, the two Patronuses charged towards the black mass. Together, they pushed back the crowd until soon the room was back to normal temperature and they were gone. Once they were gone, Xavier dropped to the floor, his energy spent.

* * *

She saw the Dementors leave and finally felt their presence disappear. She looked over at Xavier who gave one final smile and then collapsed to the floor. Hermione ran to him as quickly as she could and crouched down next to him.

"Xavier? Xavier. We need to go." she said softly. The flames that Xavier had created in the room next to them were starting to reach under the door. Xavier made no movements and his breathing was incredibly weak.

"Xavier! We have to go!" she said much louder. With that, Xavier awoke, albeit weakly.

"What?" he said softly, as if getting up in the morning.

"You set this whole wing on fire. We need to move." Hermione said urgently. Finally, Xavier seemed to understand what he had did and very slowly stood.

"Can you walk?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. But let's run." Xavier said, taking off towards the elevator.

"Xavier!" Hermione replied, chasing after him.

Once they got inside the lifts, Xavier sat down on the floor.

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Yes." Xavier said out of breath. "When we get out of here, I'm going to need a nap. Where is everyone else at?"

"They got out. It's just you and me."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Xavier said, breathing deep through a smile.

"Xavier, you know there are going to be people waiting for us when we get to the Atrium."

"Of course. And when I set the Atrium on fire, we won't have to worry about that." Xavier said strongly.

"You really are trying to get yourself killed aren't you?" Hermione asked..

"I think I'm actually trying to kill myself." Xavier said with a chuckle.

"Well don't do that either." Hermione replied.

Finally, the lift came to a stop at the Atrium.

"Hermione, when we move, just run. I'll be fine." Xavier said.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Of course. Now go!" Xavier said as he took off out of the lift.

Hermione took off towards the front doors in the hope to get to the visitor exit. She was almost there where she turned around and noticed that Xavier hadn't followed her. Instead, he had taken to setting the entire Atrium ablaze. He had taken the fires and enlarged them until they covered both walls. He turned around obviously satisfied with his work until Hermione noticed someone walked out of the flames in the distance.

"XAVIER!"

The voice sounded so familiar but it had a different edge to it. Hermione knew who it belonged to. She just hoped that it would go away.

"XAVIER!"

It didn't. The man continued to walk through the flames until everyone could see his face.

"Hey, Xavier."

Xavier turned around and faced the man.

"Rich."

"Think you did something big today? Oh man, you burned down a magical building. We'll never fix it. I can't imagine how long it will take us." Rich said snidely.

"I know you think you're clever, Rich. But you know that things won't get any better for you guys. Voldemort has reached his peak." Xavier said confidently.

Hermione moved closer to try and prevent something bigger from happening.

"Granger, stay where you are. I wouldn't want to have to kill your boyfriend. Oh wait, I already did that." Rich laughed.

Hermione couldn't move. She just stood in her place. She knew that tears were running down her face but there was nothing she could do to stop them. Xavier was her best friend with Harry gone. His brother killed Ron. His _twin_ brother. Now, all she would see when she saw Xavier was Rich and all she could see where she saw Rich was Ron's battered corpse.

Suddenly, Hermione snapped. She launched herself at Rich, firing a barrage of spells. Rich apparently hadn't been prepared as she was able to quickly overwhelm him. Just as she was about to kill him, Xavier stepped in front of her.

"WHAT are you doing?" she asked him.

"You don't need this, Hermione. You don't need to sink down to his level."

"And you do?" Hermione asked him in anger.

"I don't kill for personal reasons, Hermione. I do it to win the war. If there's something personal there, then I deal with it, but my first priority is to make sure we beat these guys. Don't become him." Xavier said, looking deep into her eyes.

"Hey, Granger, I can always do my brother too. He's looking pretty close to you. I know he's better than that Weasley punk but you could still do so much better." Rich said with an evil smirk.

Again, Hermione tried to launch herself at him. This time, however, Xavier was there to hold her back.

"Hermione, Voldemort is probably going to be here any moment. We need to get moving. We don't have time for this."

"Will you do something then?" Hermione asked in tears.

"What?" Xavier asked her.

"Can you burn this whole place down? All of it?"

"For you, I can do it in an instant. Now go!" Xavier insisted.

Quickly, Hermione turned and ran out, consumed by her anger. She hoped that Xavier would kill him or do something. As she left the Ministry and Apparated back to Hogwarts, all she could think about was Ron and Xavier. Ron had been killed by Rich. Xavier was Rich's twin brother. She wasn't sure what there was between Xavier and her anymore. She definitely felt like there was something deeper than basic friendship but she couldn't possibly imagine being involved with someone so quickly. However, she knew that Xavier cared about her too. Things were just too complicated for her. She needed Harry to fix them.

* * *

"Had to get rid of your girlfriend so you could throw me around?" Rich asked.

"No, I had to get rid of her so I could burn you alive." Xavier replied.

Instantly, the look on Rich's face went from one of smugness to one of fear.

"You wouldn't. You're too sweet and nice for that." Rich said, trying to reclaim his fearlessness.

"I wouldn't. I'll give you ten seconds to get up and run away. Then, I unleash the hounds." Xavier said, a small smile forming around the corners of his mouth.

"Now I know you're bluffing. You wouldn't use that kind of magic." Rich said, a full smile returning to his face.

"One." Xavier started.

In a flash, Rich stood up and ran towards the far end of the Atrium. Xavier waited until he got to five and then attacked.

_"Abyssus Incendio!"_

It seemed as for a moment, the lights went out. Then, a legion of fiery creatures launched themselves from Xavier's wand. Under his direction, they multiplied and grew until they stood larger than the tallest giant. Before he left, he directed them to destroy everything in the building and then dissipate. Finally, Xavier was able to turn and leave the Ministry for the last time. Xavier wouldn't be surprised if his brother got out. Rich was known for being able to get out of pretty much anything.

Once Xavier left, he turned on the spot and headed for Hogwarts. The only thing that was sure was that someday, Britain was going to need a new Ministry.


	4. Conflict

06/22/2006

Hermione woke up the next morning in tears. Once again, she had a dream about Ron. Ever since his death, it had been common occurrence. However, usually, the dreams just involved watching his body coming back to Hogwarts over and over again. This time, he looked just like he had when he came back from Diagon Alley, bruised and beaten. But, he was alive. He was walking around the Gryffindor Common Room. For awhile, Hermione had just watched as he paced the room. Then, he turned and spoke to her.

_"You've forgotten about me, Hermione."_ his voice rang out. It reached Hermione and hit her like a wave of fire, warming her deep. Even though he was accusing her of forgetting him only weeks after his death, she couldn't help but smile. To hear his voice again was...intoxicating.

_"Hermione, you've forgotten about me. I loved you and you've forgotten about me." _Ron said, his voice flooding her with old memories.

"I haven't Ron. I promise you, I haven't! I think about you everyday!" Hermione had insisted.

_"But you have. You spend all your time with Xavier. Do you love him?" _Ron said, an edge entering his voice as he approached her. _"Do you love him, Hermione? Do you? Do you? Do you? Do You? DO YOU? DO YOU? DO YOU?"_

"I DON"T KNOW!" Hermione had yelled as she woke up, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know."

Suddenly, Hermione heard footsteps sprinting up the stairs. Moments later, Ginny popped her head into Hermione's room.

"Hermione?" she said softly. "Are you ok?"

She stepped into the room and looked Hermione in the eye.

"Hermione, are you ok?" she repeated.

"I don't know..." was all Hermione could reply with.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked as she sat on the end of Hermione's bed.

"I'm not sure I can." Hermione replied, finally settling down. "I can't even think about what I'm doing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with Ron and the war and everything-"

"And Xavier?" Ginny interrupted.

Hermione stopped and looked directly at Ginny. Hermione had been one of Ginny's best friends for as long as she could remember being at Hogwarts. They trusted each other, almost more than they had trusted their male counterparts.

"Ginny..." Hermione started again.

"Don't, Hermione. Don't you dare. I know what you're thinking." Ginny shot back sharply.

"What am I thinking?" Hermione replied.

"You think that because you were engaged to Ron and because he died, you have to be miserable for the rest of your life. You think that it's your great responsibility to never feel like a regular person ever again because my brother was taken from you. So, to honor his memory, you'll never touch another man in your whole life." Ginny stated boldly.

"I don't want to insult his memory! Is that a problem?" Hermione replied.

"No. If you ever insulted his memory, I would probably kill you." Ginny said with a short smirk. "But, Ron wasn't an angel, Hermione. He wasn't a Saint or a God or anything like that. He was a human being. He liked to eat, he liked to sleep, he like to have sex (Hermione giggled when she said this). Ron was moody as hell and was probably one of the most stubborn men on the face of the earth. But he loved you more than he loved himself or anyone else in the world. His love for you was probably only equalled by his friendship with Harry."

Hermione sat and absorbed Ginny's words. Ron certainly had never been perfect, even he would have admitted to that.

"Would he have wanted me to be happy?" Hermione asked simply.

"Ron would have been jealous of any other man that you would have dated. However, Ron's love for you was so great that I believe he could have put his ego aside and let you do what you needed to. That hasn't changed just because he died." Ginny replied.

"So, Xavier...?"

"Xavier is probably one of the most honorable men around here. He's obviously interested in you because he shows it, which is rarer than a Basilisk. I know that you like him and I know that he likes you. You just have to decide if that's enough for you."

"At the very least, he's completely different from Ron and yet eerily similar. He's quiet, Ron obviously wasn't. He's noble, Ron's usually wasn't. He's respectful, Ron had his opinions whether you wanted them or not. But, they were both fiercely protective and they would stand in front of me for anything. I know that I like Xavier. I just can't bring myself to do anything about it so close after Ron's death." Hermione replied.

"I know that Ron wouldn't have wanted you to sit and mope over him. He would have wanted you to live and with Xavier, you can do that."

Hermione looked away for a moment. Then, she looked back at Ginny.

"So, when do I say something?"

"Whenever you feel comfortable."

* * *

06/24/2006

The Upper Council had been called to order for the first time since the death of several NOA members and the torture of Padma Patil. Hermione knew that this was going to be a long meeting.

"Thank you again for continuing to come to these meetings." Xavier said to kick things off. "I would first like to apologize for my behavior towards you all the other day. I realize how hard you are trying and my behavior did nothing to help that."

A quick look around the room told Hermione that no one really cared about what he was saying. In fact, she noticed that some people weren't even paying attention.

"Now, is there any business to attend to before we get going?" Xavier stated.

"Yes." someone at the far end of the table replied.

"Ok. Whoever said that can present." Xavier stated before sitting down.

At the other end of the table, Percy Weasley stood up.

"Xavier, Severus, and Hermione. You three have been appointed to lead us during this time of need. We allow you to make executive decisions both for the government and the military. However, myself and others believe that new leadership is needed. The NOA has grown stale in such a short amount of time and there is no reason to believe that this is going to change. So, I move for a vote of no confidence in all three leaders of the NOA."

Hermione looked up and down the table. Then, she slowly stood.

"Percy, I appreciate what you are trying to do. I would ask, however, that if you are to vote for this that you leave Xavier out of it. Especially without Harry, Xavier is the best military leader that we have. No one else is equipped to handle the responsibility off handling both the foreign armies housed here and the current NOA members. If you believe that the government needs a change, then so be it. But, we have done the best we can in all of our military operations and Xavier is the cause of most of that."

Percy laughed in his seat before he replied.

"Hermione, don't be naive. He's the biggest reason we need the change. He is undoubtedly the strongest wizard here and he has no checks on him whatsoever. Both you and Severus trust him so blindly that he is given free reign over everything. He doesn't have to check with anyone. He just does."

Hermione thought that she knew the biggest reason behind this motion.

"That is not entirely true. Xavier takes suggestions from everyone and utilizes them in the best possible way. The attack on Diagon Alley? Ron's idea. He listened to Ron and decided that the idea was a good one."

"Ron is dead because he listened to him!" Percy replied angrily.

"Yes, he is. But not because of a flaw in the plan but because things happened that they couldn't have possibly planned for. Ron was forced to make a choice that no one wanted to make and yet he did it to make sure that those that he deemed most important survived. Do you question Ron's decision?" Hermione replied, her voice strong and straight.

"I don't question Ron's decision. I question the man who would take a poor plan and attempt to execute it." Percy shot back.

"So Ron's plan was poor? The plan that took away the money from every person in England and the only wandmaker left in all of the British Isles. That plan? Because that plan was brilliant and worked perfectly. Percy, you're letting your emotions cloud your sense of judgement. It was a good plan and there were causalities. Any good plan can have those." Hermione stated.

"How can you be so calm? Did Ron mean nothing to you?" Percy accused.

"Ron meant everything to me! Ron was my world and he is gone and there is nothing I can do about it! But, what I can do is honor the memory of a man who died for his best friend and the man who had confidence in him. I can honor that memory by continuing to fight. But, we can't fight Voldemort if we are together here! If you really believe that everyone would be better off with Xavier, let's find out." Hermione raged before standing up.

"Do I hear a second for a vote of no confidence for Xavier Mitchell?" Hermione asked the room.

"Second!" Draco Malfoy added.

"OK. All those in favor of removing Xavier Mitchell from office and electing a new military leader, raise you hand!"

Only the hands of Draco Malfoy and Percy Weasley rose.

"Are you kidding me?" Percy said with anger as he stood and left the room.

"I would like to add something." Severus said. He had been sitting in his usual corner, keeping to himself as always. During Upper Council meetings, his voice was rarely heard but his presence was always felt.

"What?" Xavier asked.

"I would like to resign as Co-Head of State. As a spy for Lord Voldemort, he has asked me to lead a team of Death Eaters in Paris. I feel that I should not be leading a government in general but especially if I am actively fighting against it. This way, I will have no knowledge of your actions and Lord Voldemort will not know what the NOA is doing."

"Severus, is this really what you want?" Hermione replied.

"It is. I don't want Lord Voldemort to know that I'll still be supporting you even though I'm leaving England. I imagine that's why he's sending me there." Severus said.

"Well, then Severus, we'll let you leave. Please be careful." Xavier said as Severus stood and left the room. Just as he left, Percy came back in the room.

"Are you people insane?" Percy exclaimed.

"Percy, sit down!" Xavier yelled to the far end of the table.

"Why? Who put you in charge?" Percy said, drawing his wand.

"You did! When you couldn't convince anyone that you were a good choice for Hermione's job, that's when you put me in charge! Until we're out of this war, I'm in charge. Once we're out, I promise to give Hermione the reins back but until then I'm the one who is going to keep us in this so sit down, shut up, and pay attention!"

Hermione looked down the table to Percy. He seemed to be thinking about continuing the argument. However, he eventually seemed to calm down and take his seat. Then, Hermione looked down at the other end of the table towards Xavier. Xavier never seemed to sit anywhere near her, which she found strange since they always seemed to spend the rest of their time with each other. Xavier's face was incredibly red, obviously as a result of the talk that had just occurred in the room. However, he didn't seem to be out of control which was one of the things that Hermione loved about Xavier. Xavier, even in his desperation, never lost it.

"We need ideas, guys." Xavier said. "We may have destroyed the Ministry but I feel like Voldemort doesn't really care about that. So, any ideas?"

"We need to get back to the other Ministries in Europe." Hermione replied. "If we can get more support from our foreign allies, we may be able to prevent Voldemort's expansion."

"Good idea, Hermione." Xavier said, giving her a small wink. "Pierre, Alek, Katarine, do you have any ideas for getting more support from the other European nations, your own included?"

"Vell, our government is done giving aid to your army. In fact, ve have info that our Ministry is suspected to haf been infiltrated by Voldemort's forces." Aleksandar said.

"The French cannot afford to give you any more troops. We need zem at home to protect ourselves." Pierre added.

"The Germans can probably afford a few more people. I know the Swiss aren't interested in getting involved in this but we may be able to convince them. Also, with them being so far away, we may be able to persuade the Russians to send help."

"OK." Xavier started. "Voldemort has restricted travel off the island. There's no way to Apparate off the island or use the Floo Network to get to the mainland without clearing it through the Ministry first, which we obviously cannot do. So, any ideas on how to get over there?"

"We could always get Flying Carpets shipped here from Arabia." Charlie said.

"Creative, but they would have to go through the Ministry. Not only are they illegal, I doubt he would send them here afterwards." Hermione added. She was beginning to doubt her own plan. Without any good way to get word to foreign Ministries, chances of their success were small.

"Could we send an owl?" Percy asked quietly.

"An owl caught trying to leave the islands are being returned to the Ministry." Xavier said, shooting down another idea.

For a couple minutes, the room went relatively quiet. Every once in a while, an idea would be suggested to those sitting around them for it to be shot down almost instantly. Suddenly, Hermione thought of an idea that was almost ridiculous.

"What about Harry?"

Instantly, the room went silent.

"We have to assume that he's on the mainland somewhere. He's Harry Potter. He can get to anybody, anywhere. _And_ he'll have Dumbledore with him. At least we're pretty sure he will. We found a letter from Dumbledore that asked him to come to him in Berlin."

"How did he get off the island?" Bill asked with interest.

"Knowing Harry, he probably swam." Hermione said, laughing softly to herself. "My point is that if we could get a message to him, we might be able to get him to talk to these people for us."

"Well what was he doing with Dumbledore?" Ginny asked strongly.

"As is always the case with Dumbledore, we have no idea." Xavier said, speaking the truth.

"I think it's the best chance we have. How do we get a message to him?" Draco said. "How do we get in touch with him?"

"Ginny will send her Patronus to him." Hermione blurted out, realizing it without even knowing she had thought of it.

"Wait, why me?" Ginny asked instantly.

"Because you were the one that was closest to Harry. It's more likely that your Patronus could find him and have the strength to get there." Hermione explained.

"Oh." was all Ginny could muster as a reply.

"Well, guys, I think we have a good enough idea what to do. Ginny and Hermione, if you'll come with me, we'll go do that right now. As for the rest of you, stay in tonight. I don't want to lose anyone else. We know what we're doing and we don't really need anymore information for the time being." Xavier said, looking at Hermione for approval.

"Thanks everyone. Meeting adjourned." Hermione added.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Ginny, Xavier, and Hermione were all in the Headmaster's Office.

"Alright, Ginny, we just need a simple message, asking him to go to the Swiss and Russian Ministries asking for help." Xavier added.

Ginny wasn't sure about this. She knew that getting a Patronus to travel just across the English Isles was difficult. Getting it to go across a continent would be nearly impossible. She wasn't like Harry, Hermione, Xavier, or even Ron. Ginny was smarter than a lot of people and an incredibly clever and resourceful witch. However, she wasn't brutally powerful which is what she thought she needed.

"Xavier, I don't know about this." she spoke aloud.

"Ginny, you'll be fine. We have complete confidence in you." Xavier said.

"Ok." Ginny said, knowing that she didn't sound comfortable. She went about picking a happy memory. Ginny had already decided that one with Harry in it would be needed for this. Thinking back over the years, she remembered when he had kissed her for the first time. She thought back as he pulled her in a close embrace in the loud Gryffindor Common Room and then leaned in. She remembered as his warm lips met hers.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

Instantly, a horse launched forward from the end of her wand. It circled the room, running on nearly everything before returning to her, scuffing its hooves impatiently, waiting for orders.

"I need you to go find Harry." Ginny said, her voice shaking nervously.

Just like a real horse, Ginny knew that it could sense her nervousness as it ran to the corner of the room and disappeared. Instantly, Ginny sunk to the floor, tears flowing from her eyes. Seconds later, Hermione was there, her arms wrapping around her.

"I know you love him, Ginny. I know it. You know it. Even Xavier knows it. When we say that you're the only one that can do this, we mean it. There's no way that either of us can do it. It has to be you, Gin." Hermione said, using Ron's nickname for his only sister.

With this, Ginny looked up at Hermione, noticing tears forming in her eyes too.

"I love him." Hermione whispered in her ear. "As much as it scares me, I do. But, I know that just like Ron, I would do anything for him. I know that you would do the same thing for Harry. You would step in front of the Hogwarts Express for him. Use that. Use your love for him."

Ginny continued to look at Hermione. It was very rare for Hermione to pour her heart out to anyone. The fact that she had told her her true feelings for Xavier, that she had confided in her, showed her how much confidence and trust Hermione had in her. So, Ginny stood up and let her emotions flow into her. She decided not to think of one particular memory of Harry. Instead, she just thought about Harry. How he looked, how he felt, how he talked, and how he was. She knew that the more she thought about it, the more she cried. Suddenly, she felt it. She felt her love for Harry surge through her, giving her energy.

Ginny pulled herself together and launched her energy forward.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

A great white light flooded the room, blinding everyone. As the light cleared up, everyone could make out a Patronus. However, this time, it was different. No longer was there the playful pony that pranced around the room. Instead, a giant mustang stood, calm and strong.

"Get to Harry. Tell him to go to the Swiss and Russian Ministry and ask for help." Ginny said through her tears.

For a moment, it stood there. Then, it slowly nodded and then turned and urgently sprinted out the window. For a little while longer, no one spoke as they took in what had just happened.

"Ok." Xavier said. "What was that?"

Ginny had no idea. She had heard of Patronuses changing shape, but never evolving. Her Patronus was definitely still a horse but it was stronger now, powerful and patient. She would have to ask someone about this when she got the time.

"I don't know." Hermione said. "That was amazing, Gin. How did you do that?"

"I just thought about him." Ginny said.

"What memory?" Xavier asked.

"Nothing in particular. Just how I felt about him. I thought about how he made me feel. I could feel it giving me strength. It was amazing." she replied softly.

"You're telling me." Xavier said in return. "Alright, well if there's nothing else, you are free to leave Ginny."

"Thanks, Xavier." Ginny said as she exited the office, left with more questions than when she had entered.

* * *

"Can you stay, Hermione?" Xavier asked, a little tinge of nervousness in his voice.

"Sure, Xavier." Hermione replied. "What's up?"

"I have a couple things." Xavier said. "First, good idea with getting to the foreign Ministries. I hadn't thought of that yet."

"Thanks. It was something I had been thinking about for a little while."

"Well I'm glad you brought it up. Ok, the next thing is I'm glad you were able to inspire Ginny. I wanted you to know that's initially why I invited you up here with us. I knew that you would be able to get her to do it. I'm glad I was right." Xavier added.

"Really? You thought I could do that?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Ginny trusts you and you're the closest person to her that's not her family. I thought you could influence her a little bit and get her to believe in herself."

"Wow. I didn't know anyone had that kind of confidence in me around here anymore." Hermione remarked.

"I also heard what you said to her." Xavier said, his eyes sinking to the floor, unable to look at her anymore. Xavier knew that Hermione was more than just a friend to him now, that much he knew. How he actually felt about her, he had no idea.

"What?" Hermione said with a shocked look on her face.

"I thought you were talking about Ron. Then, I heard you mention Ron as someone else." Xavier said, continuing to focus his gaze on the ground.

"Xavier, I don't know what to say." Hermione said, obviously embarrassed.

"Hermione, you know that I value our friendship more than anything right now. Most of the time, it alone keeps me from turning into a madman. But, I know that you are more than just a friend to me now and just like you I don't know how I feel about that."

Xavier stepped up and put his hand on the center of her back and pulled her in closer. Their faces were so close Xavier could feel Hermione breathing on him.

"It wasn't that long ago that I was with Demelza and you were with Ron. It's been about three weeks since they were killed. No one was closer to us than they were, especially Demelza. I don't let people get close to me. If I do, I end up disappointing them."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked softly, the warm air of her voice pressing against Xavier's face.

"I disappointed my parents. I could save them from my brother. I disappointed my brother. I couldn't save him from myself. I disappointed Demelza. I couldn't save her from Voldemort." Xavier said sadly.

"Xavier, you can't blame yourself for them. You did everything you could to prevent them from happening." Hermione said, pulling her face back to look Xavier in the eyes. Xavier had forgotten in such a short amount of time how beautiful her eyes were.

"I had the abilities to stop them and I couldn't. All I do is disappoint." Xavier said.

"That's not true, Xavier. As much as I care about you, I may respect you more. You think more about other people than anyone I know." Hermione replied with a whisper.

"Thanks, Hermione. I really appreciate that. Anyway, my point is that I don't want you to do something you aren't ready for. I know that I care for you and I want you to do whatever you think is right." Xavier said.

"Xavier, I want to try and make things work with you. I know that we've both had some pretty emotional things happen to us recently. I just think we should keep things quiet for a little while." Hermione replied, a small smile on her face.

"Why?" Xavier said, pulling back again to look at her.

"I'm not sure how Ron's family is going to handle this. I know that Ginny seems pretty ok about it but I don't know about the rest of them. I don't want them to try and kill you." Hermione said with a quick giggle.

"I'm ok with that." Xavier said, pulling Hermione in to a huge embrace. For a few moments, they just stayed there and relished in each other's presence. Then, Xavier pulled apart just long enough to pull her into a soft kiss. Xavier relished in Hermione's warm, soft lips for only a couple seconds before they broke. Hermione instantly wrapped her arms around Xavier and pulled him in tight.

"Wow." was all she said.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. KNOCK KNOCK.

"Come in." Xavier said, quickly separating from Hermione and sitting on his desk. Quickly, Ginny walked into the room. Her eyes were red.

"First, I heard back from Harry. He can get to the Swiss Ministry but he's not sure about the Russian Ministry." Ginny said, obviously distressed.

"Are you ok, Ginny?" Xavier asked, thinking he knew the answer.

"It was his voice. I could hear him again as if he was right here. Then it was gone." Ginny said, breaking into sobs.

Instantly, Hermione stepped up to Ginny and put her arms around her.

"He's out there Ginny. He hasn't abandoned us. He may have left without telling us but he'll be back. I know it." Hermione said confidently. Xavier believed her even if he didn't necessarily believe it himself.

"Ginny, what else did you have?" Xavier asked curiously.

"Harry's Patronus told me that Voldemort has troops stationed outside Paris. He plans to move in at sunrise tomorrow morning."

"How does he know that?" Hermione asked, letting Ginny get room to breathe by walking back over to Xavier and sitting next to him on his desk.

"I have no idea. But I believe him." Ginny said with confidence.

"There's no reason not to. But we can't get off the island." Hermione said.

"Yes we can. Thestrals and brooms. I thought about that earlier when we were coming up with ideas to get to France. It didn't seem practical then but this is an emergency. Tell the French army to be ready in twenty minutes in the Great Hall. Hermione, I need you to get the thestrals from the forest and get George to get all the school-owned brooms. I'll tell everyone if they have a broom to bring it."

"When are we going to leave?" Hermione asked.

"As soon as we can. Ginny, go. Hermione and I will be down in a second." Xavier added.

Nodding knowingly, Ginny made her way to the door and moments later was out of hearing range. Once he knew she couldn't hear him, he turned to Hermione.

"No way to convince you to stay here?" Xavier asked.

"Are you trying to protect me, Xavier Mitchell?" Hermione asked mockingly.

"I am. I've already lost more people than I ever wanted to. If I lose you, I'll lose everything." Xavier replied seriously.

"Xavier, I can take care of myself. I'll stick close to you if it makes you happier." Hermione said with a smile.

"Thanks. Now, let's go kill Death Eaters." Xavier said, returning Hermione's smile.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the NOA and the French army were ready. Everyone had a broom or thestral to ride to Paris.

"It is currently 8 PM here. The trip to Paris will take about seven hours. It is going to be long and probably cold, even though it's June. Realize that we are doing this to keep Voldemort was extending his grasp. We'll get there about 4 AM our time. From there, we'll have about two hours to rendezvous with the French Ministry and set up defenses around the city. Be on guard at all times."

Xavier reached down and grabbed his broom.

"Load up and move out!"

Instantly, Xavier launched himself in the air, Hermione not far behind on her own thestral. Together, they flew towards the world's first open wizarding conflict. The first true battle of the first war.


	5. Departure and Discovery

**A/N: We're back! I'm so ready to get this story started again and I hope you are too!**

06/25/2006

He hated himself. He hadn't slept at all that night. Nightmares haunted his sleep. He actually was able to get more rest by staying awake. More often than not, his nightmares left him more exhausted when he woke up. However unlike before, he hadn't accomplished nothing. The last time he had gone out on his own, he had spent months hiding and accomplishing very little until the very end. This time, they had finally discovered what they were looking for.

Still, Harry had left Hogwarts over two weeks ago and regretted it everyday. They had gotten what they were looking for and still weren't going back to Hogwarts. No, instead, they had stayed in something that had to be the equivalent to the Leaky Cauldron. The only difference was the snobby French people there instead of the normal Brits that inhabited the Cauldron back home. The only bright side was that he knew that he would see Ginny and Hermione soon.

All he could do was think about what they had done since he left Hogwarts.

* * *

06/10/2006

He couldn't believe her. After all these years, she thought she could lecture me about being strong. All he was was strong. He had been strong for everyone else for a decade. He had never broken and he had never given in. No one was stronger than he was.

He had bolted out of the Gryffindor Common Room initially with no target of where he would go. However, moments after he left he decided on a target: his office behind the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Just a few moments later, he was seated behind his desk, fuming. Suddenly, a large phoenix rapped on his window. He went over to see Fawkes perched outside. As Harry opened the window, he saw that a letter had been tied to his foot. Harry quickly untied the letter from Fawkes and bid him goodbye. Finally, Dumbledore was calling him.

Harry quickly grabbed his broom and a few valued possessions and was gone.

* * *

06/11/2006

The next morning, Harry arrived in Berlin. He had rode his broom until he felt the wards around the British Isles lift and then Apparated the rest of the way here. Once he arrived at the German Ministry, Albus met him.

"Good morning, Harry. You look terrible." Albus noted.

"I can guarantee that I feel worse that I look." Harry replied.

"Well, then I hope our search can keep your mind off of some things for awhile. Did you do the research that I had asked you to do?"

"Yeah. The Legendary Scrolls of Merlin? How are they going to help?"

"Well, when they were more readily available, those that read them often noted their shock at how Merlin's life ended. They said that it was something completely out of his character. One even noted that it was the most awful thing he had have read." Albus informed him.

"A Horcrux..." Harry replied, mostly to himself.

"I believe that to be the case as well. While I have very little knowledge about Horcruxes, I do know that to create one is one of the most horrible kind of magic. I can't imagine that reading about Merlin creating one would have been too pleasant for those that read it."

"Well where are the Scrolls?" Harry asked, almost impatiently.

"Camelot and that is what we must find." Albus replied swiftly.

"The Castle of Legend? I thought it was a myth."

"As you will learn, Harry, almost all myths are rooted in truth. This one is no different. However, Camelot has been most difficult to find. But, I did manage to find something."

"What?"

"The Castles Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, and Ra."

"What are they?"

"Initially, the world believed them to be normal castles. However, after doing some initial research, I believe that they are the key to finding Camelot. Each one seemed to be covered in immense power and are rumored to have been built at nearly the same time."

"So where to first?"

Albus waited a moment before he replied.

"Castle Odin is in Norway. Zeus in Greece. Jupiter in Italy. Ra in Egypt. I do not believe that we need to visit them in any order."

"I think I would rather get Odin out of the way. It's cold in Norway this time of year."

* * *

06/13/2006

Castle Odin was unlike anything Harry had ever seen before. Not nearly as big as Hogwarts but still large in its own right, Odin stood over the frozen land. Harry and Albus withdrew their wand and entered the abandoned castle.

"Albus, I sense magic from within the castle."

"As do I, Harry. It seems to almost be a nexus of magical energy. I wonder what we will find in the heart of the castle."

"I think we'll find out soon enough." Harry replied cautiously.

For the next half hour, Harry and Dumbledore wandered the halls, alone. Suddenly, a chilling voice rang out from the darkness.

_"The night is darkest just before the dawn."_

"What was that?" Harry whispered.

"I believe we are getting nearer to the nexus."

For the next hour, Harry and Dumbledore continued their search. Harry was almost ready to give up when they turned a corner and saw a blue light at the end of the hall.

"Albus, I think we found it."

They made their way quickly to the end of the hall. As they turned the corner, they were astounded by what they saw. A large white room that did fit in with the decor of the rest of the castle at all. In the center of the all white room was a ball of blue light about the size of a Quaffle.

They made their way inside the room and were nearly to the center when the same disembodied voice spoke again.

_"Harry Potter and Albus Dumbeldore, protectors of the light, we, the four, hold secrets that you seek."_

"What secrets?" Harry asked softly.

_"You seek to find the Scrolls. The Four can help you or hinder you. It is all in how you answer."_

Suddenly, Harry realized where he had heard this voice before. The voice had become less frightening and more calm and comforting.

"What riddle do you have for me, Rowena Ravenclaw?"

Instantly, the blue light transformed into a beautiful woman. Dressed all in the same raven blue color and with a tiara gracing the top of her head, she could have been mistaken for a queen or an angel.

_"I am impressed, Harry Potter. Few would have understood my words."_

"I have also talked to your daughter." Harry replied calmly.

_"Ah, Helena, she was not a true Ravenclaw. A true Ravenclaw would not have resorted to simple thievery."_

"Harry, what is this?" Albus asked.

"I'm not sure. But if you think of it, it kind of makes sense. The Four Founders were the powerful witches and wizards in the era after Merlin. They alone had the ability to protect the secrets of Merlin."

_"This is true. Harry Potter, the challenge is simple. Visit the Four Castles and pass the Four Challenges. When you have done that, Camelot will be revealed to you."_

"Then I am ready."

_"The Ravenclaw challenge is a challenge of the mind. You will be given three riddles. Answer them correctly and you will leave safely. But, answer them incorrectly, and you will forever remain in Castle Odin."_

Harry nodded in understanding.

_"The first riddle is this: I am invisible, yet ever present. I am always there and always changing. You may reach out and grab me, but when you look into your hand, I will be gone. What am I?_

Harry took a moment to think about it before he answer.

"The present."

_"Congratulations, Harry Potter. You have passed the first riddle. The second riddle is: I _

_______know you better than anybody else. I know all your secrets, you'll never be able to deceive me. I see you just as you are and how you are and I also know what you want, I know your intentions and what's behind you. If the smile is true or crying is false. I Know your gaze more than anybody else and I have seen you and will see you as nobody ever will. But don't worry, I will keep your secret, since sometimes, when you're crying is not because of him or because of her. Or when you laugh, you don't laugh with those present but with those who are thing is that I know you better than anybody else although we have never spoke but I heard you, I saw you in every way. I know your soul as my own. _

___________I have been joy at times and deep regret other times. I have seen you as nobody else, naked or covered with charms, or masks that I only could reveal. I know you, almost, as if I was your own being. _

_______________Who am I?"_

"You know me better than anyone else? And you know all my secrets? Well, wouldn't I know all my secrets? And we've never spoken? So, a silent friend? As if I was your own being! I know! A mirror!"

_"You are better than expected, Harry Potter. Now, the third riddle is: I see without seeing. To me, darkness is as clear as daylight. What am I?"_

Harry laughed. "You must be a bat!"

_"Congratulations, Harry Potter. You have passed the Ravenclaw Trail. Good luck in your travels."_

Instantly, Harry and Dumbledore rushed out of the castle. However, just as they were leaving, a blue ball of energy flew passed them and off into the mountains in the distance.

"I wonder where she's going." Harry thought aloud.

"Probably to Camelot, Harry. Someone has passed her test, she is no longer needed her." Albus replied. "Now, where to?"

"Greece?"

* * *

06/14/2006

To think Muggles couldn't see the giant castle that rose above the Acropolis of Athens. Harry laughed when he saw the Muggles instantly walked away from the highly magical area.

"Are you ready?" Albus asked him.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry replied as they entered the castle.

This time, there was no dawdling. Harry and Albus headed quickly for the heart of the castle. Finally, they saw what they were looking for, a warm yellow light. Instantly, Harry sprinted the length of the hall and opened the door. Unsurprisingly, they found themselves in the same white room as they did before.

"Show yourlself, Helga Hufflepuff." Harry stated boldly.

Instantly, the yellow ball of light quickly transformed into a strict looking woman.

_"I see that you have discovered the secret of the Four Castles. As a result, the Challenege of Hufflepuff shall begin. Within moments, this room will begin to fill with water. There are two ways out. First, there is a door located directly behind me that can be opened at anytime. However, there is another challenge waiting behind it. The other way out is through the ceiling which will take you to safe passage. Unfortunately, it can only be opened after the room has been full for thirty seconds. It is your choice, Mister Potter."_

The moment she was done speaking, water began rushing through the walls. Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"We need to get you out now."

"I do not believe that that is the point of this trail, Harry. Hufflepuffs value patience and hard work. I fear that opening that door will make things incredibly difficult on us. I will do my best to hold out. However, I must admit to not being the best of swimmers."

During this brief conversation, the water had risen to Harry's knees and was climbing rapidly. He realized that Dumbledore was right and began to plan.

"Albus, I'm going to need you over here. If you look up at the door on the ceiling, you'll notice that there is a small indentation in the ceiling. We'll need to be up there when the room gets full. That way, we can get one good breath before there's no air left in the room."

"I trust you, Harry. Do what you think needs to be done." Albus said softly as the water continued to rise. Within moments, Harry was lifted off the floor to keep his head above water and seconds later, Albus as well.

They waited for the water to continue its ascent to the ceiling. Seconds later, they were both squeezed into the small space where the door was. It was a very tight fit for the two of them.

"Now, in about ten seconds, I'm going to take a big breath and then go under to get out of your way." Harry said. "I want you to wait as long as you can before you take your final breath. Make it big and make it count, alright?"

"I will do my best, Harry."

"I know you will." Harry said. Then, he took in as much air as he could and dove under. A mere moment later, Albus had followed him under the water and all they could do now was wait. For what seemed like an eternity, they waited. Harry looked over to see Albus visably struggling to keep his breath. The old man obviously didn't have the physical stamina that he had had before his death and even then, this would have been pushing it.

Finally, the door swung open up top. Harry grabbed Albus and shoved his head through the door. Albus quickly grabbed the lip of the door and pulled himself through. Harry followed him shortly thereafter.

"How are you doing, old man?" Harry asked with a smile.

"To be frank, I've been better." Albus replied weakly. Suddenly, the figure of Helga Hufflepuff appeared before them.

_"With patience, you have succeeded. Go now and complete your journey."_

After saying her bit, she turned into a yellow ball again and flew away.

Harry turned to Albus and spoke. "On to Italy?"

* * *

06/17/2006

Harry and Albus had decided to wait a couple days before they made another attempt to discover the location of Camelot. This time, their target was the Castle Jupiter on the island of Sicily in Southern Italy. They had gotten there moments after they left Greece but had decided to allow Albus to regain his strength. Finally, he felt up to the task and they made their way to the castle. Unlike their last encounter, they didn't have to worry about random Muggles being all over the place. That's because Jupiter was hidden deep within the countryside of Sicily.

Again, the two wizards wasted no time getting to the source of the castle. This time, it glowed red.

"Godric Gryffindor!" Harry shouted, excited at the chance to see his house's namesake.

For the third time, the ball of light that was in the middle of the room transformed. This time, however, it transformed into what looked like a knight clad in red armor. He had a bushy red beard and was carrying a spectral version of the Sword of Gryffindor.

_"Harry Potter, a true Gryffindor, has come to take my challenge" _he said in a deep, comforting voice.

"I have." Harry replied simply.

"As have I." Albus shot in. It was obvious to Harry that he was just as excited to meet Godric as he was.

_"Don't think that just because you were a member of my House, that I will go light on you. I know that Salazar will not. So, the Trial of Gryffindor will be rigorous."_

"I am ready." Harry replied with a monotone voice.

Instantly, the floor in the very center of the room opened up. Inside, fire raged. It was an inferno with flames that reached down into the very pits of hell.

_"The task is simple. At the bottom is an amulet that you must retrieve. There are stairs that will bring you back up but the only way down is through the flames. Good luck, Harry Potter."_

"Thanks." was all Harry could muster in reply.

"Harry, you know that this is going to hurt." Albus said before Harry could jump in.

"I do."

"I will do my best to heal you but my restorative magic powers aren't what they used to be." Albus promised.

"You'll do what you can." Harry said before he jumped into the pit.

The heat was unbearable! Not only could Harry not see where he was falling or what he was falling into, the flames that licked his skin caused his skin to being to burn almost the second he entered them. Suddenly, Harry looked down and saw the bottom of the pit. He painfully raised his wand and fired a powerful spell that Xavier had taught him. Blue energy exploded everywhere, clearing flames from the area and breaking Harry's fall. Harry quickly ran to a pedistal where the amulet stood. When he went to reach for it, he learned that it was incredibly hot. Yet whenever he attempted to cool it down, it would get hotter. He soon came to the understanding that it was meant to be hot.

Not wanting to delay the inevitable, Harry grabbed it and ran. As he ran, flames followed as if they were alive. If he hadn't been in so much pain or been working so hard to get back to the top, he would have noticed the centaurs, hippogriffs, and dragons the fire behind him was forming. For what seemed like an eternity, he climbed the stairs. Finally, he reached the top.

He quickly dropped the amulet at the feet of the corporal wizard.

"G-g-got...it." Harry said, trying to fight his way through the pain.

_"You fought against all odds to retrieve something that you knew would assist you on your mission. That is courage beyond what most men are capable of. Take the amulet. When you pass Salazar's test, it will be your key to Camelot."_

With the good news told, Harry promptly passed out.

* * *

06/22/2006

Harry finally woke up five days later. In that time, Albus had transported both of them to Cairo and done his best to heal Harry. Harry had to admit that he was impressed. The man, who had been so weak after their encounter with Helga Hufflepuff, now was the one who saved Harry.

Castle Ra looked nothing like the others. In fact, that's probably because it was a pyramid. When they entered, they came to realize that the inside of the pyramid was a labyrinth, designed to keep someone lost for days. Thankfully for Harry, he was an incredibly powerful wizard. He marked every path that came to a dead end and within only two hours, Albus and Harry were through the labyrinth.

On the other side was an emerald green light.

"Let's get this over with Slytherin!"

A mighty scream was heard as the ball of light transformed into a slim man. Even though he and Lord Voldemort were many centuries apart, you could still see the family resemblance. However, he also looked like someone else. Someone he couldn't place.

_"Potter, how dare you come here, you filthy half-blood. Get out of my sight."_

"You can't throw me out. You aren't even real. You are an energy trail left behind by the real Salazar Slytherin. Nothing more than just some over active magic." Harry replied calmly.

_"Over active magic? How dare you insult me? Fine then, Potter, you shall go through the Trial of Slytherin."_

"About damn time." Harry shot back quickly.

Harry was expecting the rules of the game to be explained when he suddenly passed out.

* * *

Harry awoke in his bed at Hogwarts.

"Mornin', Harry." came Ron's voice from the other side of the dormitory.

"Good morning, Weasley." was Harry's simple reply.

"Did you hear the news?"

"What news?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort was killed by some Aurors last night. He's finally gone!"

The party at Hogwarts celebrating the death of the Dark Lord was talked about for generations. It lasted for several days and nights. On the third day, Hermione approached Harry.

"Harry, you should head back up to the Common Room with me." Hermione said, a fire whiskey in her hand. "We could have a good time..."

Suddenly, Ginny appeared out of nowhere.

"No! He should go up with me. I could show him what a real woman is like" she said with a naughty smile.

Then, as quickly as Ginny showed up, Cho was there.

"I don't think so ladies. None of you could even come close to matching up with me." Cho said as she placed her hand on his chest.

Suddenly, Harry was inspired.

"Ladies, ladies, I believe there's plenty to go around."

_"Harry, wake up."_

"Why don't we all go upstairs and have some fun."

_"A dream...it's...dream...up."_

Then, several images flashed through Harry's mind quickly. Hermione and Ginny naked on his bed. Cho on the floor. All of them in the bed. Harry kissing Hermione. Harry kissing Cho. Harry kissing Ginny. Ginny kissing Hermione. Cho kissing Hermione. Harry having sex with Hermione. Harry having sex with Cho. Harry having sex with Ginny.

The images kept getting more and more provocative until suddenly a new image flashed through his head.

He was standing in a graveyard. In front of him, the graves of Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Cho Chang. Ron stood next to him on the dark and stormy night. Harry looked at Ron and noticed how old he was. Not just mature, but...old. _Wake up, a...dream. _He needed a cane to stand up now and appeared to be very ill, as if death might take him that night too.

"I loved all of them, Ron." Harry said and with surprise noted that his voice sounded very old as well. "I just couldn't pick."

_"HARRY, IT'S A DREAM! WAKE UP!_

"Did you hear that Ron?"

Ron replied but instead of Ron's voice, I heard the voice of Albus Dumbledore.

_"Harry, this is a dream. You need to wake up. You will die if you don't."_

Suddenly, it all made sense. He turned to the graves and spoke again.

"I get it. I've loved all of them. I never wanted to let any of them go but I needed to choose. Well, I did choose. I chose Ginny, Salazar Slytherin. You can't fool me. I know that the only woman I'll ever truly love is Ginny Weasley."

With that, the image disappeared and Harry was returned to the chamber. He stood up from where he had passed out and approached Slytherin. He was pleased to find out that he did have some solidity to him. So when he grabbed him by the throat, there was actually something to grab.

"Listen to me, Slytherin. You were wrong. You were a bigot and a terrorist. All you ever did was cause numerous wars and give us the world's darkest wizard. I am a half-blood and I've already defeated him once. Oh wait, I guess that doesn't count consider Voldemort is too."

Suddenly, the look in Slytherin's eyes changed.

_"Tom Riddle is a half-blood?"_

"Born of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle, a muggle. He's no better than I am."

Slytherin appeared to be upset. Then, he suddenly let out a huge roar.

_"You have passed the Trial of Slytherin, Potter. And as I sense that you have passed all four tests now, you are ready to discover Camelot. Once you learn of its location, you will be able to Apparate there at any time. I am displeased to know that a half-blood will be disgracing the house of my father, but you have proved yourself worthy."_

"What did you just say?" Harry asked in a panic.

_"Camelot is the castle of my father, Merlin. He was my father as he was to the other founders. We are the sons and daughters of Merlin and the earth is ours to inherit."_

With his job done, he resumed his energy form and departed from the pyramid. Suddenly, Harry felt something touch him as if to give him direction.

"I know where it is. We need to go. Now."

As Harry said this, the pyramid around him began to collapse.

"Now!"

And with a twist, Harry and Albus Dumbledore were gone to the House of Merlin.

* * *

**Here's a cast list for this story (remember that Harry Potter is almost 26 at this point so any actors I name, they would be that age):**

**Harry Potter-Daniel Radcliffe**

**Hermione Granger-Emma Watson**

**Xavier and Rich Mitchell-Chris Hemsworth**

**Ginny Weasley-Bonnie Wright**

**Albus Dumbledore-Michael Gambon**

**Merlin-Ewan McGregor**

**Zachary Rhine-Andrew Garfield**

**Voldemort-Ralph Fiennes**

**Severus Snape-Alan Rickman**


	6. Sacrifices

06/22/2006

Harry and Albus opened their eyes to see one of the most amazing things they had ever seen: Camelot. It was a sight unlike anything they had ever seen. The castle was enormous. Harry had to guess it was three or four times larger than Hogwarts. The entrance to the castle was completely covered in rubies and diamonds, making the castle seem as if it gave off its own light. Hell, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if it did.

"Shall we go in?" Albus asked to Harry.

"I think we should."

They slowly entered the open gate and went inside the large main entrance. Inside was a huge entrance hall, but what got Harry's attention was what was just on the other side of the hall.

"Albus, is that what I think it is?" Harry asked, pointing out the small display case on the other side of the hall

"I believe it is, Harry." he replied as they ran to the other end of the room.

Sure enough, once they reached the other end of the hall, they saw that inside a small display case was what they had spent the last week looking for, The Scrolls of Merlin.

"Harry, the information on these Scrolls can give us the information to stop Merlin." Albus said, out of breath and not because of the running they had just done.

_"Without the power of the One, you cannot defeat him."_

"What?" Harry replied softly.

He turned around to see the images of The Four Founders standing on the other side of the hall. Harry quickly approached them.

_"It is foretold. The White Wizard cannot be defeated by normal means. Only one who controls the power of the One can defeat him." _Godric Gryffindor spoke.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.

_"The One, the First." _Godric Gryffindor replied again.

"The first what?"

_"Wizard, boy. The first wizard."_

"Well, we aren't the first wizard, in case you hadn't noticed and I'm pretty sure that Merlin wasn't either."

_"He was not." _Hufflepuff confirmed.

"So what are you talking about? Do I just not be as powerful as the "first wizard" whoever he is?"

_"Of course not, you half-blooded fool." _Salazar replied. _"When my father was alive, a seer came to visit him. During his visit, he suddenly closed his eyes and began to talk in a rough voice. He said..."_

Suddenly, all of the Founders spoke in unison.

_"The Great White Wizard sit atop his throne...There, he will sit until his power leaves him...However, The Great White Wizard is cunning and easily hides from Death himself...Lightning strikes and grants his power to the one who seeks to destroy him...For the White Wizard is not worthy of this power and shall be cast out...Come, seeker, take your prize and defeat the Great White Wizard..."_

Harry and Albus sat in silence for a few moments before Albus spoke up again.

"Harry, I do believe we have another prophecy about you."

"What?" Harry replied in surprise.

"I believe so. _Lightning strikes and grants his power. _I do not find it at all a coincidence that lightning is mentioned, Harry. Not when you have a scar like that."

"Come on. Isn't that stretching it a bit?" Harry asked.

"Maybe. However, the last part is fairly convincing as well. _Come, seeker, take your prize. _Seeker? Few people play Seeker and fewer still have lightning bolt scars on their forehead, Harry."

"Fine, this prophecy _may_ be about me. But there was part in the middle that confuses me. _The White Wizard is not worthy of this power and shall be cast out. _Cast out? What do you think that means?"

"I do believe that it is simply a fancy way of stating that he will die if you are able to claim this power. However, that is not for us to decide just yet. We must retrieve these Scrolls."

Harry and Albus turned around and were just about to start heading towards the Scrolls when the Four Founders flew to the other end of the room and stood in front of them.

_"You must prove yourself worthy of the Scrolls." _Rowena Ravenclaw said.

"Didn't I beat all of you? Isn't that enough?"

_"Even the Great Founders don't stand up to Merlin."_

Suddenly, something began to form in front of the display that the Scrolls were housed in. Within seconds, an image like that of the Founders was formed. Harry thought the man who had been formed looked familiar. Then, he spoke.

_"Harry Potter. Good to see you again."_

Instantly, Harry recognized that silky voice. Merlin.

"How is this possible?"

_"I developed this ability when I was alive. The first time. I was able to place some of my magic here to protect this place. When my sons and daughters brought the Scrolls back here, my magic manifested into something that would protect them. When I was returned from the dead, I discovered that I was able to transfer my consciousness to this magic and take the ethereal form of my old self."_

"For what purpose?" Albus asked him.

_"That's a great question, Dumbledore. You see, my magic is so strong that this form can literally use its magic. So, I can defend the Scrolls."_

Suddenly, the form of the younger Merlin drew his wand and pointed it at Harry.

_"Avada Kedavra!" _he screamed.

It took just a little while longer to launch than it normally would have and this saved Harry's life. He quickly dove out of the way and drew his wand. Harry noticed that the curse must draw its power from the magic that Merlin had left here, which meant two things. First, it was possible for Merlin to run out of magic. Second, because it took a split second for the energy to form, Merlin would be a step slower than normally. This was the advantage Harry needed.

Harry stood up and pointed his wand at Merlin.

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Protego!"_

The shield was barely up in time to stop Harry's curse. But, it was slow enough that it knocked Merlin off balanced.

_"Depulso!"_

This time, Merlin could offer no defense. Harry's charm hit him square in the chest and sent him flying towards the far wall. Merlin's body quickly picked up speed before it slammed into the wall with a huge force. Instantly, Merlin dropped to the floor. However, it wasn't enough to keep him down. He was up in no time and back attacking Harry.

_"Crucio!"_

_"Confringo!"_

The two curses collided in mid air, causing a large red and blue explosion. Harry couldn't see for a moment and Merlin was able to use this to his advantage.

_"Incendio!"_

Instantly, the area around Harry was in flames. Lucky for Harry, Albus was quickly there.

_"Aguamenti!"_

Within moments, the elderly wizard had put out the flames, leaving Harry to attack. He leveled his wand at Merlin and fired.

_"Crucio!"_

It was obvious that Merlin hadn't been expecting this. The curse hit him in the stomach and he instantly doubled over in pain. However, unlike the times where Harry had cast this curse in the past, the pain continued for as long as Harry wanted. He pushed Merlin for nearly 30 seconds before finally letting up on him. He could hear Merlin's form breathing deeply.

_"It's a good thing that I cannot enter Camelot without leaving Lord Voldemort's side, Potter."_

"Why is that?"

_"Because I would have killed you."_

"I doubt that." Harry replied frankly.

_"This is only a fraction of my power, boy. You will see."_

Suddenly, the form of Merlin began to disintegrate and within seconds was gone. Harry walked to the Scrolls and picked them up. The Four Founders, who had watched the whole battle, nodded their approval.

_"Good luck, Harry Potter." _Godric Gryffindor said before all Four of the Founders faded into nothing.

"This had better be worth it." Harry said.

"I am sure it will be." Albus replied with a smile.

* * *

06/24/2006

Two days later, Harry and Albus were in Paris to look over the Scrolls. However, that was not what got their attention. While they knew that Voldemort was being very active in trying to take over the rest of Europe, neither of them expected him to work so quickly. As they snuck into Paris, they had seen at least four patrols of Death Eaters.

"It looks like they're preparing for an invasion of the city." Harry observed.

"I would agree with you." he said as they hurried passed one of the groups.

Albus had led them to a small motel and restaurant in downtown Paris. In fact, it was just a few meters from the Eiffel Tower, something that Harry had always wanted to see. Once they got to their room, Harry spoke up again.

"I think we need to let NOA know about this."

Albus seemed to be thinking about it before he replied.

"I don't know, Harry."

"Are you kidding? Most of the French Army is at Hogwarts. There's no way this city can defend itself from them."

"I know." was all Albus replied with.

"So what are you thinking?" Harry replied quickly.

"I think that we should let them take it."

"How can you say that?"

"Harry, you must understand that sometimes sacrifices must be made. If we reveal ourselves to Voldemort too quickly, he'll know that we managed to escape England and he will probably attack the castle."

"Did I just hear you correctly? Did you say that I need to _understand_ that sacrifices must be made?" Harry asked in anger.

"Harry, that's not wh-you must-understand..." Albus tried to reply.

Suddenly, Harry drew his wand and pointed it at Albus.

"Lily Potter. James Potter. Cedric Diggory. Sirius Black. Severus Snape. Remus Lupin. Mad-Eye. Tonks. Ted Tonks. Fred Weasly. Colin Creevey." Harry began listing people that had died during the Second Wizarding War.

"Harry, I und-"

"You." Harry interupted him. "You think that I don't know sacrifice, Dumbledore. Tell me, why are we doing our research away from Hogwarts?"

"What do you mean?"

Harry's eyes narrowed.

"We got what we're looking for, Albus. Why aren't we going back to Hogwarts?"

Albus didn't reply.

"I think I know why. You said that you lost your will to fight this war. I can see that now. That's why we're still here. You're still begging for my approval. You so desperately want to know that you're doing things right, that things are going the way they should. But in the end, I have to return to Hogwarts."

Albus waited a second before he replied.

"Harry, you're like a son to me. I knew that I was sending you to your death and I said nothing. I told you nothing. I can't live with sending you to your death again."

"You aren't. Regardless of whether you realized this or not, I'm not a child anymore. I was the Junior Head of the Auror Department before Lord Voldemort returned and I was will on my way to being the Head of the Department. You don't get to play protector anymore. I'll wait another couple days. After that, I'm taking the Scrolls and I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"I understand, Harry. I know that you are not a child. I just thought that doing our research away from the war would allow us to really do it right."

"There is no away from the war! Everywhere we go is the war! In case you hadn't noticed, I'm Harry Potter. I'm the one that Voldemort and Merlin want. I'm who this war is about."

"I know, Harry."

Harry was about to say something else when he heard someone in the hallway outside their room.

"Goddamn Dark Lord. We don't need Paris, damn it. There's nothing here other than a bunch of snotty French people."

Instantly, Harry ran to the door and opened it. The man instantly turned around and saw Harry. He tried to draw his wand but he was too slow.

_"Stupefy!"_

Instantly, the man dropped to the ground. Harry quickly ran to the other end of the hallway where the man had fallen. He grabbed him and pulled him back inside their room. After the man in a chair and conjuring some ropes to tie him up, Harry turned to Albus.

"We don't have any Veritaserum, so I'm going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."

"Harry, I cannot, in good conscience, let you do that."

"Then get out." Harry replied simply.

"Harry..." Albus started.

"We need the information, Albus. I'm doing this, whether you like it or not. If you don't, then get out." Harry replied with a death glare.

Albus thought about it for a second before he turned and walked into the other room. With that out of the way, Harry turned to the man.

_"__Rennervate_ ." Harry whispered.

Instantly, the man woke up. He looked around in a panic and saw Harry.

"Oh shit."

"Yeah." Harry replied before he turned to the door.

_"Muffliato."_

"What the hell does that do?" the man asked in fear.

"Well, if you must know, it makes it so that no one can hear what's going on in this room."

"Oh."

"Now, what's your name?"

"Obidiah Carrow."

"Really? Any relation to Amycus?" Harry asked.

"Seond cousin." the man said softly.

"Good. Good. Now, you're going to tell me what the Dark Lord plans to do with all the Death Eaters around Paris."

"Are you crazy? If they found out I talked to you, they'd kill me."

Harry leaned in and whispered into Obidiah's ear.

"What makes you think I won't?"

Instantly, Obidiah's voice turned to panic.

"You're the Chosen One. You don't do stuff like that."

Harry stood up and drew his wand. Then, he pointed it at Carrow's leg.

_"Confringo!"_

Instantly, the bone in his leg snapped. Obidiah screamed and howled and cursed Harry. Harry let him yell for about five minutes before he went at him again.

"When is Voldemort planning on attacking?"

Obidiah's face flooded with fear.

"Please..." he pleaded. "Please don't make me tell you."

Again, Harry pointed his wand at Obidiah, this time at his arm.

_"Diffindo!"_

Instantly, blood came rushing from the cut that appeared on his arm. As the blood rushed down his arm, Harry got in his face.

"My patience is wearing thin, Death Eater. If you don't give me what I want, there's going to be hell to pay. I promise."

"P-p-p-pl-please don't-t m-m-make m-me tel-ll y-ya-you."

"I need to know Obidiah." Harry replied simply before standing up and walking to the other end of the room. Harry hated doing this. Interrogation of this kind had been Harry's worst subject at the Auror Academy. Harry could do it and do it well eventually but he still hated himself for it.

Finally, Harry reached the other end of the room.

"Any information?"

Obidiah's only reply were his sobs of pain.

Harry raised his wand to attack again, hating himself.

_"Crucio!"_

The screams were horrible, but Harry knew he couldn't let up. Even if he had to kill this man, he needed to know what was going on. Suddenly, Obidiah screamed something intelligent.

"SUNRISE! AHHH!"

Instantly, Harry released him from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. He ran to him and got in his face again.

"What did you say?" Harry whispered.

Through the deep breaths that Obidiah was taking, he managed to spit out a few words.

"He's...coming..at...sunrise."

Then, Obidiah passed out.

Instantly, Harry released him, healed him and altered the man's memory. Then, he called Albus back into the room.

"I heard everything Harry." Albus said as he entered the room, a look of disappointment on his face.

"I know. I intentionally didn't cast it on your room."

"Why not?"

"You need to understand that we don't have the liberty of picking and choosing how we do things anymore. This is a war and more like a war than anything the Wizarding World has been though before. We need to take prisoners and cause havoc and despair at time. That's how we must win."

"I know, Harry."

Again, Harry was about to reply when something distracted him. A giant horse Patronus strode through his window. He thought it looked familiar and sure enough, he instantly recognized the voice that spoke up.

_"We need help, Harry. Go to the Swiss and Russian Ministries and request assistance."_

With that, Ginny's Patronus disappeared.

Hastely, Harry drew his wand.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

Harry's silver stag erupted from his wand. However, this time, something was different. Harry noticed the stag, which normally only had a small rack of antlers and a lean body, had changed. Now, it had a full rack and a large muscular body.

"Patronus evolution." Albus muttered absentmindedly.

"What?"

"Sometimes when two people feel a connection, their Patronuses can influence each other. As you saw, Ginny's Patronus had evolved and so did yours as a result."

"Cool." Harry replied simply before turning to his stag.

"Give Ginny this message: I will do my best to get to the Swiss Ministry but I won't be able to get to the Russian Ministry. Also, Voldemort has Paris surrounded and plans to move in at sunrise tomorrow morning. Albus and I request your assistance in taking them down. If you come, we will meet you by the Arc of Triumph tomorrow at 4 AM. I love you, Ginny."

Instantly, the stag nodded and took off. Albus' displeasure was obvious the second the Patronus left.

"I thought we agreed that we didn't want them to come here."

"No." Harry replied. "No, you thought that. I believe that they need to be here. Plus, I have authority in the NOA over you. It's my call to make."

"You certainly have changed, Harry Potter."

"War does that to you."

* * *

06/25/2006

He hadn't slept at all that night. Nightmares haunted his sleep. He actually was able to get more rest by staying awake. More often than not, his nightmares left him more exhausted when he woke up. However unlike before, he hadn't accomplished nothing. The last time he had gone out on his own, he had spent months hiding and accomplishing very little until the very end. This time, they had finally discovered what they were looking for.

And as he sat in his bed, he knew that The NOA was flying over the English Channel to help him defeat Lord Voldemort in open battle. Finally, after a fortnight, he would see his friends again. However, on this night before the first great battle of the first international Wizarding War, he could only think of the friend that wasn't with them anymore. Harry tried to convince himself that he had only left because Dumbledore had requested him. But even he wasn't sure that was the case. Ron's death might have made him leave anyway.

But more than anything, Harry just wanted to go back to Hogwarts. Harry wanted to see Ginny and Hermione again. He had left Xavier in a bad position of trying to explain the disappearance of both Harry and Albus at nearly the same time. He would have to make up for that. But more than all of that, Harry wanted to see the one person he couldn't see. His best friend was gone. There wasn't anything he could do about it.

But, Harry thought as he waited for morning, there was something he could do about the rest of them. Harry, come hell or high water, would get his revenge. He could avenge the death of Ronald Weasley and send Voldemort, Merlin, Rich and all of their kind back to the fiery furnace where they belonged.

War is finally here, Harry thought as he stared out the window. Now, to win it.


	7. Soldiers

**06/25/2006**

Harry hadn't slept well the night before. In fact, he had hardly slept at all. He spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, praying that Obidiah had been wrong and that no one would come in the morning. However, Harry knew that that was too good to be true.

At 3 AM, Harry got up from his bed and walked to the window. The nightlife of Paris had just started to die down and within the hour, Harry would be meeting with the NOA and the French Minister to plan a defense strategy. Harry had been so absorbed with what was going on outside the window that he hadn't noticed his elderly companion enter the room.

"Get any sleep?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

Harry's only reply was a simple shake of the head.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry. There's still time. Send your Patronus to them. Tell them to go home." Albus pleaded.

Harry slowly turned around, an incredibly sharp look on his face. Finally, a grim smile broke before he replied.

"You have no idea what I'm thinking, Dumbledore. I wish that the NOA would hurry up and get here. I think we are going to need more than two hours to get ready and so the sooner they can get here, the better."

Dumbledore sighed.

"Do you really think they're going to be that big of a help, Harry?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't they be?" Harry asked in surprise.

"The NOA fights best in situations that they know and places they can control. This is neither."

"They've also been trained to handle this. Albus, I've made my decision. Now, we need to get down to meet Leon in twenty minutes and we are going to need to walk there."

Five minutes later, the two great wizards were dressed and on their way. They were both incredibly silent as their own thoughts consumed them as they marched slowly towards battle. Finally, another five minutes later, they reached the Arch of Triumph. Someone was already waiting for them.

"Allo, Monsieurs Potter and Dumbledore, I cannot tell you how much we appreciate you coming thees morning. Your information will be vital in defeating Lord Voldemort."

Harry laughed at the formality the French Minister showed. Harry had known Leon for almost four years now and was probably Harry's favorite foreign politican.

"Leon, please stop calling me Mr. Potter, that's my father."

"Ah, too true, M-uh-Harry. Now, I assume we are waiteeng on someone?"

"Someones actually." Harry replied. "The New Order Army should be here in about ten minutes, if they're coming at all."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked in return.

"Well, I never heard anything back from them. So, I guess we'll just have to wait."

And wait, they did. For nearly twenty minutes, they waited. Then, just as Harry was ready to give up hope, he heard them. Suddenly, a red-headed witch came screaming towards him. Harry's face instantly broke into a huge smile. Ginny had obviously been in a hurry. She nearly crashed as she sped down to the ground in front of Harry. She jumped off her broom and instantly looked up.

"Hello, Ginny."

Suddenly, Ginny realized that it was Harry who stood before her in the darkness. She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in tight. They stood for nearly a minutes, arms locked around each other, before they separated.

"Where is everyone else?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was kind of excited to get here, so I flew really fast. Give them another couple minutes and they'll get here."

As if they had been listening, about a hundred witches and wizards Apparated around them. Harry looked around and saw everyone that he had been missing for the past two weeks. Hermione, Bill, George, and Percy Weasley and Xavier. His friends.

"Hey guys." Harry said quietly.

"Harry, if you leave me with these guys ever again, I'm going to hurt you." Ginny said.

"Agreed." Hermione added.

"Really?" Harry said, his eyes focused on Ginny.

"I promise." she said as she stepped on his right foot.

"Good."

Then, Harry looked up and addressed his friends.

"Alright, here's the deal. We know that Voldemort has a significant force outside of the city ready to move within the next hour or so. Leon Cartier, French Minister of Magic, has already agreed to concede the rest of the city. However, we must not let their Ministry fall. If we can hold them for the next day or so, a group of us can meet with the Swiss Ministry and arrange support. But, if are not successful, the whole country of France will be added to Voldemort's control."

"We can't let that happen." Xavier stated.

"Correct. So, Xavier, Leon, and I will work out a defense strategy and give you your assignments within the next twenty minutes or so."

With that, each member of the NOA entered the back up entrance to the French Ministry. Once inside, Leon led Harry and Xavier to his office just down the hall from the main entrance.

"We 'ave to 'old ze entrance area. If we do not, we will be forced back into ze offices where ze attackers will 'ave a distinct advantage. If the entrance does fall, we must retreat all the way back, passed ze offices and into the holding cells. Zere, ze attackers will be forced into some narrow hallways where we will be able to take zem out."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry replied.

"I think we need to use the balcony in the main entrance area." Xavier added. "Also, all other entrances needed to be magically closed and we need to figure out a way to keep people from coming to work. The fewer people here, the less there is a chance for innocent civilians to be used a pawns."

"I agree." Harry said. "I think that if we move some tables and cabinets into the Entrance area, we can create large barricades to shield ourselves behind. However, we'll have to use a Sticking Charm to ensure that the Death Eaters don't try and move them. What we can do is have the barricades down at the far end of the entrance and we'll block any other exits, so the only way for them to get into the main part of the Ministry is passed us. Then, as they push farther in, we have ambush teams in the balcony that attack, hopefully catching them off-guard and allowing us to easily take them."

Harry looked at Xavier for approval.

"Harry, how long have you been planning this?" Xavier asked.

"About fifteen hours, I didn't sleep last night."

"We didn't either. We were too busy flying outside Voldemort's Anti-Apparation barrier. He's made it larger."

"Great."

Finally, Leon spoke up again.

"Shall we get everyone going zen?"

* * *

Almost an hour later, everyone was set up. Harry paced the middle of the entrance hall as he watched everyone get into position. The only thing that Harry didn't know what how the Death Eaters planned on entering the main hall. They couldn't possibly all come through the main entrance and there were only a few fireplaces for the French Floo Network to operate. Suddenly, Harry knew that this could have ruined their whole plan. He ran back to Leon, who was still in his office.

"Leon, what does the main entrance to the Ministry look like from outside?"

"My friend, it eez simply a brick wall. Ze entire wall is a magical portal to here, not unlike your Platform 9 and 3/4, no?"

"So it would be possible for them to come from there all at once?"

"But, of course."

"Can you close the Floo Network down?"

"It will take some time, 'Arry, but yes, I can."

"Do it. I want to funnel them to the front as much as possible."

With his directions, Leon instantly stood and marched towards the Floo Network. After watching him go, Harry took off back towards the main hall. There, Xavier and Hermione were maintaining their place.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked as Harry approached.

"It's very possible that Voldemort will tell his men to come blasting through the main entrance as we expected. However, I thought that they would have to come in small groups because of their entrance. But the entrance to this Ministry is more open than the one in London and so it is quite possible that they could rush in at once."

"OK. That's not cool. What are we going to do about it?" Xavier questioned.

"We are going to shut off the Floo Network."

Hermione and Xavier looked at each other in confusion.

"We make it so they can't escape. We'll bring them in and then lock them in."

"Harry, that's insane." Xavier replied in shock. "That's like locking your enemy and yourself in a closet and lighting everything on fire just to make sure he dies."

"You're probably right. I just hope that we surprise them and we don't have to worry about being burned." Harry replied. "Let's just get back to our posts and wait."

Hermione and Xavier nodded and then walked back to their respective places along the large barricade at the end of the entrance hall. As Harry slowly walked back to his place in the very center of the long line of tables, desk, chairs, and filing cabinets that had been magically stuck together to create their defense bunker, he looked around the hall. He realized that every British member of this hall had been a part of his life for quite awhile.

He saw Aberforth stationed next to his formerly deceased brother. It sickened Harry to think that the Dumbledore line could come to an end today.

In the balcony was Fleur and Bill, along with the squads they commanded. While Harry had met both of them at age 14, their most important impact on his life occurred after Harry, Hermione, and Ron's escape from Malfoy Manor. Thankfully, Bill and Fleur had housed them as they continued their plan to destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Also up in the balcony was Hermione, Harry's best friend and constant reminder of what he lost. He knew that for the rest of his life, every time he looked at Hermione, he would think of Ron. Not just because Ron loved Hermione but because Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been apart of something bigger than just the three of them and now a third of that magic was gone.

To his left was another collection of his past. Down there sat Draco Malfoy, his long-time rival, Oliver Wood, the man who introduced him to Quidditch, Viktor Krum, who had become one of Harry's best friend once he became an Auror, and Rebeus Hagrid, the first wizard Harry ever met. In fact, Harry noticed that Hagrid was walking down his way.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" Harry asked in concern.

"I dunno ter be honest wit ya. Justa bad feelin'. All I wanted ter do was come down here and say how proud I am of you, Harry, and I knew yer parents would be too."

"Thanks, Hagrid. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Harry. Also, I've been meenin' ta talk ter ya 'bout what coo were doin' with Dumbledore." Hagrid added, a more suspicious look on his face.

"Hagrid, I promise that if we get out of here, I will tell you everything."

"Good man." Hagrid said as he turned to return to his station. Harry watched the old giant go before turning and looking at the right side of the barricade, continuing his path down memory lane.

Cho Chang, who, if Harry was honest with himself, hadn't gotten any less beautiful since she left school. Harry chuckled silently to himself as he thought back to his school-age crush on Cho. Then, the horrible experience he had with dating her. He had been so embarrassed that it had been nearly four years before he was able to have a real conversation with her again.

The lone Weasley twin, George, sat just passed her. Even though George was still as humorous as always, with the situation the way it was, all Harry could think about that day in the castle where the world lost the other half of the Weasley Duo. Along with Tonks and Remus', Harry knew that he had taken Fred's death very hard. Even still, Harry couldn't imagine the pain that George felt, which was saying something.

Luna Lovegood, the most peculiar person that Harry had ever had the fortune of meeting, sat next to Ginny, the most wonderful person he had ever met. The two of them were best friends nowadays and were rarely without each other. In fact, before the war, Harry would quite often seen Luna just as much as he saw Ginny. However, he couldn't complain. Whatever made Ginny happy made Harry happy.

Just thinking about Ginny made Harry feel safe. Never before had someone understood him so well and been able to look passed the fame and fortune and at the real person underneath. Ron could do it and so could Hermione, but no one did it better than Gin. Funny, for a relationship that began with a small girl, afraid to even look Harry in the eye, to a grown woman who on numerous occasions had given Harry the death glare.

Finally, standing with him in the center of the bunker was Xavier Mitchell. Harry felt that they understood each other better than they thought and that they were more similar too. Harry knew that Xavier would do anything to protect Hermione and therefore wasn't upset when he heard rumors that the two of them were interested in each other. In fact, quite the opposite, he welcomed it. He knew that Hermione and Xavier had both lost someone very close to them and to find support in someone else is a beautiful thing.

Suddenly, Harry was startled out of his daydream by the sound of his voice being screamed across the hall.

"Harry!" the voice of Zachary Rhine came ringing out as he sprinted across the floor.

"What?" Harry asked.

"T-they're h-here." he said as stopped in front of Harry, trying to speak and catch his breath at the same time.

"How many?" Xavier asked.

"I stopped counting at two hundred."

Harry and Xavier looked at each other in horror. Sharply, Harry turned back to Zachary.

"How soon?"

"A minute, two at the most."

Harry quickly stood up and drew his wand. Then, he swiftly pointed it at his own neck and silently amplified his voice.

"EVERYONE!" Harry's voice rang out over the hall. "THE DEATH EATERS SHOULD BE HERE WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES. PLEASE BE READY. REMEMBER THE PLAN AND YOU WILL DO FINE!"

With that, Harry pointed his wand back at his throat and just as quickly as his voice was amplified, it was back to normal.

"Zach, get back here and join us. Remember everyone, the plan is to hide behind the barricades until they get close. Then, we fire at the same time as those who are on the balcony."

Suddenly, a light went on at the other end of the hall.

"Zat is ze signal. Ze will be transported here shortly." Leon said quietly.

"Good." Harry replied.

"Ve need to be ready to go." Viktor said to his end of the shield.

"We will be." Xavier replied. He looked up to the balcony where Hermione was located. Harry watched as their eyes locked.

"We'll get through this." Harry said quietly.

"I know." Xavier replied as he drew his wand.

"WANDS AT THE READY!" Harry screamed.

Harry's timing was perfect. Literally one second after the words left his mouth, men started pouring out of the fake wall at the other end of the hall. Within a minute, nearly one hundred men had filled the hall. Harry took this as his time to speak up.

"Leave this place, Death Eaters, and will we not have to kill you!"

Instantly, laughter filled the entrance hall as the Death Eater apparently enjoyed Harry's threat. Then, another voice spoke up.

"I believe that you are going to have to make us leave, Harry." replied an snake-like voice.

Harry peaked over the barricade and noticed Rich Mitchell staring them down. His face was even more scarred than before with numerous burns added to the marks that had already covered his face. He also walked with a cane of some sort.

"What happened to him?" Harry whispered to Xavier.

"I tried to burn him alive inside the Ministry." Xavier replied frankly.

"That was you?" Harry returned.

"Yeah."

Slowly, Harry stood and faced Rich. Just as he was about to tell Xavier to stay down, he stood up with him.

"Get out of here, Rich. You can't win." Harry ordered.

"Harry, Harry, Harry. You don't get it do you? There are nearly three hundred of us here today. How many of you are there?"

"That's not important. The wizards you command are a joke. The second they sense that they are going to lose, they will lose the will to fight and try to leave. There's only one problem with that. They won't be able to."

"How so?" Rich asked with fake curiosity.

"The only exit that's opened is the way you came in and both the German and Bulgarian armies are waiting for you out there. We've block Apparation and closed all of the Floo Fireplaces. The only way out is over our dead bodies and I can guarantee you that won't happen, you little punk."

Suddenly, some dumb Death Eater stepped forward.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The green light came flying at Harry. Suddenly, Xavier launched himself over the barricade and blocked it with a silent spell. Then, just as he landed, he leveled his wand at the foolish Death Eater.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The poor man stood no chance. Before he could even raise his wand, the spell hit his directly in the center of his forehead, forcing his limp body to do a back flip before he landed. Instantly, any Death Eater who hadn't already drew their wand. Rich raised his hand, telling them to stop.

"Dear brother, why don't we decide this between the two of us? No one else need die."

"No. This isn't between us anymore, Rich. You chose your side, I chose mine. I'll kill you when I need to."

"Well, how about we get to it then?"

As he finished speaking, he leveled his wand and fired. Instantly, the room exploded into a maelstrom. Harry was surprised how quickly the NOA was to return fire. Within moments, the room was complete havoc. There was no order left, only violence. Harry watched in horror as Lee Jordan was hit by what was obviously Sectumsempra. His ravaged body hit the ground and with no one there to save him, he bled out in moments. Suddenly, inspiration struck Harry. His head swiveled over to the Death Eaters and found the man he was looking for: Severus Snape. For a moment, their eyes locked and Snape's eyes told him all he needed to. He hadn't killed Lee but he had probably taught the curse to the person who did.

Finally, Harry realized that he was thinking too much in the middle of a battle where Killing Curses were flying in the air like bees around honey. He turned to the Death Eaters and saw his least favorite person on the face of the earth: Dolores Umbridge. She had just finished casting a Killing Curse in the general direction of Viktor Krum. Instantly, Harry raised his wand and fired.

_"Sectumsempra!"_

The old hag never stood a chance. There was a bright light and then she was face down on the ground, bleeding profusely from the neck. Harry smiled as she twitched for about twenty seconds and then died. Xavier leaned over as he launched a large Exploding curse at Rich.

"You could have just killed her, ya know?" Xavier yelled over the cacophony of voice screaming out curses.

"I know."

"Why didn't you?"

Harry looked at Xavier, knowing that he had an evil smile on his face.

"I wanted her to suffer." he replied simply.

Xavier returned the smile and then turned and continued firing spells and curses towards the Death Eaters. The NOA held up well but over the next couple of minutes, the Death Eaters were able to push forward. Harry knew that they were going to need the support from the balcony soon. He just couldn't risk using them too early. If he did, there was a chance they would be able to escape back where they came from.

Harry noticed that time seemed to be moving in slow motion. As he continued to rapid fire numerous spells in the general direction of his opponents, he was able to take a look at his own side. He watched as the Dumbledores fought together, often guarding each other and countering for one another. Harry was just about ready to smile at the teamwork they showed when Albus was just a bit too slow. Unfortunately for the both of them, Sewlyn had fired a Killing Curse in their general direction. Aberforth dropped instantly, his body lifeless and limp. Albus fell to the ground and the look on his face was one of complete hopelessness.

Finally, Harry decided that he had had enough of this battle. He looked up at Hermione and noticed that she had been waiting patiently, albeit watching in fear. He nodded his head at her, giving her the sign to go. Second later, they came screaming out of the balcony and within moments had surrounded the Death Eaters. Rich's face was priceless.

For another five minutes, the Death Eaters did their best to hold their position but no matter what they did, the position that the NOA had taken was too much to overcome. Suddenly, the voice of Severus Snape rang over the noise.

"OUT NOW!" he screamed.

With that, the Death Eaters abandoned any semblance of fighting and ran for the exit. While there were numerous members of the NOA there to block them, even they couldn't stop everyone. Another minute later, every living Death Eater was gone.

Harry began inspecting the bodies that lay in the ground. He saw the bodies he expected to see, however he saw others that he hadn't even noticed, which made Harry sick. His heart dropped as he came upon the body of Katie Bell, his former Quidditch teammate. He hadn't even seen her go down. Next, he came upon the body of Deladus Diggle. It looked like he had been hit with a Severing Charm of some sort as his right arm was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, these two along with Aberforth and Lee, were the only two bodies that belonged to members of the NOA.

Laying in the middle of the room was Dolores Umbridge, her pink attire coated in red. Harry kneeled down towards her body and whispered in her ear.

"Never again, you bitch. Never again."

After looking around, they also recognized the bodies of Millicent Bullstrode and Sewlyn. However, Harry noticed someone else. He noticed as Draco walked over to her body and fell to the floor in tears.

Harry looked on as he wept over the body of his deceased mother.

"I had no idea she was fighting with him again." he said through his tears.

"You couldn't have known Draco." Xavier replied. "She was fighting for what she believed in and you were fighting for what you believed in. She is just another casualty of war."

"She's not another casualty, you idiot!" Draco screamed. "She's my fucking mother! She's my mother and I killed her! I killed her just like I killed my father!"

No one knew how to reply to that. Harry decided to give Draco time and walked around to help Xavier identify the other Death Eater bodies.

"That's Jugson." Xavier said, pointing to a man lying face first in the nearest Floo Station. "I caught him trying to sell Voldemort propaganda a couple years ago."

"He was at the Department of Mysteries when we all went in." Harry replied softly, vaguely remembering the name.

Hermione was walking back from IDing the last body when she spoke up.

"Amycus Carrow. We finally got him." she said in disgust.

"Yeah." Harry replied quickly. "Now, Voldemort's probably not going to be happy so I say we get the hell out of here and go home."

"You're coming back with us?" Ginny asked hopefully as she approached him.

"Yeah. We got what we came out here for. I can send a Patronus to Nicholas at the Swiss Ministry when we get back."

"Great. Let's go home."

"Yeah. Let's go home."


	8. Isolation and Realization

**06.26.2006**

After a long and stressful battle at the French Ministry and an even longer broom flight back, they were finally back at Hogwarts. All Hermione wanted to do was sleep, but she knew she had something more important to do. She needed to talk to Harry. While she was definitely happy that Harry was back, she really needed to talk to him about why and how he left. For the time being, she was with Xavier in his office.

"I need to go talk to him, Xavier." she said as Xavier looked over some notes that he had taken after their battle at the French Ministry.

"Why? What are you going to get out of him?" Xavier said without looking up.

"I want to know why he left. I want to know why he's back and why Dumbledore isn't. And I want to know why he left me." Hermione admitted.

"That's just it, Hermione. This isn't a business thing for you. It's personal and you can't let it be that right now. You are the head of the NOA and Harry Potter is the Hero of the Second War. People are going to be really honked off if you get after Harry a couple minutes after he gets back."

"I don't care what people think right now." Hermione replied with a sneer.

Xavier looked up from his notes.

"You need to, Hermione. More than anyone here, you need to. In the end, you're in charge here, Hermione. But that means that you have to keep everyone in mind. You can't just do what you want. That's the problem with authority. You are responsible to everyone here just like I am."

Hermione hated Xavier for saying that, because she knew he was right. Still, she knew that she was going to have to talk to Harry. She stood up and walked to the other side of Xavier's desk. She planted a kiss on Xavier's forehead.

"I love you, Xavier." she whispered. "I promise I won't kill him."

"Thanks. We'll need him." he replied. "And I love you too."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Hermione had made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room. She had actually caught Harry right before he had been ready to go to bed.

"Harry!" she yelled as he began to ascend the stairs. He turned around quickly and nearly fell down the stairs. Hermione hurriedly walked over to Harry.

"Can we talk in private?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I suppose we should." Harry replied, not making eye contact with her.

Harry led her to the room he shared with Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Lucky for the two of them, they were all somewhere else in the castle right now. Finally, Hermione would get the answers she wanted.

"Hermione, I know-"

"Don't start with me, Harry. Not now." Hermione said as she cut him off. "Now, you are going to tell me everything. And once I'm gone, I will decide whether Ginny will ever see you again or whether we will have to have another funeral."

"OK, Hermione."

Hermione listened as Harry relayed his story about leaving Hogwarts to her. She listened as he told her about his trip to Berlin and then the subsequent journey to find Camelot. She listen in horror as he told her about the Trials of Gryffindor, where he was nearly killed, and Slytherin, where he was tormented by the image of a long and lonely life. Finally, she listened as he told her about his discovery of Camelot and The Scrolls of Merlin and his return to Paris.

Finally, about two hours later, Harry was finished.

"That's it, Hermione. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else." Harry said softly.

Those words hurt Hermione more than any words she had ever remembered hearing.

"Not meant to hurt me! Harry, do you understand what that was like for me? Do you?" Hermione screamed, the pitch of her voice reaching a level that even hurt her own ears.

"I do, Hermione. I really do."

"No, Harry. I don't think you do." Hermione denied him. "Let me tell you what it was like. First, we were imprisoned in Azkaban for half a year. Oh weren't those great days. Then, Ron finally managed to work with Malfoy and Snape and get us the hell out of there. After that, we are basically imprisoned here. Then, we decide that its a good idea to attack Diagon Alley. I'm not saying that it wasn't. But as a result, Ron ends up dead. Then, my best friend decides that things are too much for him and storms out on me. Soon thereafter, he decides to take off without me. I felt so responsible for it that I tried to jump off of the Astronomy Tower."

"What?" Harry asked in shock.

"Lucky for me and for you that Xavier was there to save me." Hermione said coldly.

"I'm happy for you, by the way." Harry replied.

"For what?"

"For Xavier. I think he'll be good for you."

"I'm not talking about Xavier right now, Harry. I'm talking about you and what you did to me. You left me alone. I couldn't talk to Ginny for the longest time and I couldn't look at the rest of the Weasleys for even longer. I was lucky Xavier was there for me. Otherwise, I think I would have gone crazy."

"Hermione, I'm sorry I left but I had to. Dumbledore needed my help."

Finally, Hermione snapped. She shot up from Ron's old bed and flipped the bed stand next to her.

"I NEEDED YOUR HELP! My whole world was crashing down around me and I needed the one person that had been there for me ever since the beginning! That was you, Harry! You were always there for me and I was always there for you! When the person who I loved more than anything was gone, I needed you and you left!"

"Hermione, I didn't mean to hurt you. But we are at war and sometimes things need to be done." Harry replied, his eyes glued to the floor. He wouldn't even look her in the fact. Finally, Hermione couldn't hold it back anymore. She stepped forward and then reared back and...SMACK! She hit Harry square in the jaw. The impact caught him off guard and he fell back on to his bed.

"What the hell, Hermione?" Harry asked as he massaged his jaw.

"You were ready to quit the war. That's the only reason you left. It gave you an excuse to get out of here."

Finally, Harry stood up and matched her gaze. Finally, he looked her in the eyes.

"I was angry! My best friend had just been killed and all everyone was telling me was that I had to be strong! All I wanted to do was feel the pain that I needed to feel! But instead, all I got was people like you telling me that I needed to be strong. I don't care that people think I'm a hero! I don't care, Hermione! I just wanted to be human for once."

She had heard enough. Hermione turned and made her way to the door. However, she turned back around and addressed him for the final time that night.

"I can't kick you out of the castle just after you've returned. However, you did leave us, Harry. Therefore, as the Head of the NOA, I revoke your membership of the Upper Council and remove you from leadership within the Military. I will get Neville to take your spot as the head of your patrol. Once you have finished researching the Scrolls, you will be brought in to give an update and a report and then will be asked to leave."

The look on Harry's face nearly killed her.

"What! You can't do that!" Harry responded in shock.

"I can and I am, Harry. You're lucky I didn't have you kicked out for the crap that you pulled. You should thank Xavier for that. An hour ago, I wanted you out of the castle for a month. Lucky for you, he convinced me to change my mind. As of this moment, you are no longer a member of the NOA leadership and will be put on regular duties. Report to me for your assignments once you've gotten settled back in."

Harry didn't reply. He just sat back down on his bed, head in his hands. Hermione was sure he was crying.

"It's good to have you back, Harry." she added before she took off.

* * *

Harry couldn't believe what had just happened to him. He had been so relieved to return to Hogwarts. Finally, he would be home. Then, about an hour after his return, his fantasy came crashing down around his ankles. He wasn't a patrol leader anymore. He wasn't a member of the Upper Council anymore. In fact, he was barely a member of the NOA at all.

He really couldn't blame Hermione for doing this. She needed to appear strong on insubordination which was definitely what Harry had done when he deserted the castle nearly three weeks ago. However, he couldn't help but feel hurt about what she had done to him. She had taken away everything that he was. Harry was a soldier and a commander. Now, he was only a grunt, something that he hadn't been since he lived with the Dursley's so long ago. He couldn't believe what would happen during the first meeting that they would have without him.

Harry had held his head in his hands for so long that he hadn't notice someone walk into the room.

"Good morning, Harry."

Harry's eyes instantly shot up and focused on the source of the voice, Xavier Mitchell.

"Hey, Xavier." Harry replied dejectedly.

"You're lucky."

"How am I possibly lucky?" Harry replied.

"You are lucky in two ways, Harry." Xavier started. "First, she wanted to kill you a week ago, so be lucky that she didn't do that. Second, as of an hour ago, she wanted to hang you from the tallest tower of the castle and let hippogrifs tear your insides out. I was also able to convince her that doing that was a bad idea, although I think it was still a close vote in her head."

"Xavier, if you're trying to help, you suck at it."

"I know. All I'm saying is that she was really upset and the fact that you're still here is a miracle."

"Yeah, but she took everything away from me. Now I'm nothing." Harry replied as he slipped back into despair.

"Nothing? Harry, you couldn't be more wrong. She's liberated you. You are no longer responsible for the decisions that have to be made in war. The ones that I know you hate making. Also, you get to go back to operating like you did in the Second War. You get to do it alone or with a small group to help. I know that's how you operate best, because you've had a lot of practice at it."

"Great. I get to practice hiding in tents and wandering around England for nine months." Harry replied sarcastically.

"No, Harry. You get to fight however you want."

"What do you mean?" Harry replied, not exactly sure what Xavier had meant.

"As of now, I am releasing you from the NOA military and from the NOA as a whole. You are now simply a refugee of the Third Wizarding War that has taken shelter within the castle. You are free to operate as you like. If you wish to help us with our missions, you are more than welcome to but you are not required. Also, if you would like to recruit members of the NOA to help you on your own, please feel free."

"I don't get it, Xavier. How does this end up helping me?"

Xavier smile in a way that Harry hadn't seen before. It was like he was frustrated but in a good way.

"If Hermione had demoted you but forced you to stay in the NOA, you would have been forced to go on missions for us. However, as you are no longer truly a part of our organization, you are no longer bound to do so. Therefore, you are free to operate as you wish. I suggest that you are start by reading those Scrolls. Then, when you have enough information, you can present it to the Upper Council and they can decide what they would like to do with it."

Finally, the light shone on Harry. He knew that this meant that he was free to pursue any lead and chase down any suspect without fear of reprimand from Hermione. It was perfect.

"How will Hermione feel about this?"

Xavier actually laughed before he replied.

"She'll probably want to kill me more than she wanted to kill you, but I think I can handle it."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

Suddenly, Harry looked over Xavier's shoulder to see Hermione standing in the doorway.

"What are you two talking about?"

Harry looked at Xavier and could see the internal conflict going on inside his head. Harry knew that the righteous side of Xavier would eventually prevail. He couldn't stand to lie to her.

"I've just relieved Harry of his duty to the NOA military."

"Why would you do that?" Hermione nearly screamed at him. "The whole point of me removing him from leadership was that he was supposed to have to do the stuff that he didn't want to do!"

Amazing, Xavier remained calm as he replied.

"Hermione, you know Harry better than anyone in the world, other than maybe Ginny and even then, you know him pretty damn well. When does Harry work best?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione replied, no longer angry now just confused.

"In what kind of situations does Harry flourish?"

"Situations that don't make any sense or are out of control. Ones that don't have much structure."

"Now, Hermione, think about this. Harry, who, if you remember, was once the Head of the Auror Department, is probably the best shot we have of defeating Lord Voldemort. We can't just cut him out of the picture entirely. But, I agree that his ability to make decisions for us should be taken away for the time being. That's why eliminating him from the NOA is the best option. It allows him to work at his own pace without having to abide by rules that we set forward. He can come and go as he pleases and he is free to report his progress to us at any time."

Finally, Harry was sick of letting them talk about him like he wasn't there.

"Listen, Hermione, I know what I did was wrong, which is why I've accepted that I need to take a step back for awhile. Still, I need to be involved in this. No one else here has beaten Lord Voldemort before and I think that this is going to be an even more difficult task than before because of how well protected he will be. So, while you guys are doing whatever you're going to be doing, I'm going to be researching how to defeat Merlin so we can get to Voldemort. OK?"

Harry could tell that while Hermione definitely wasn't happy about this, she knew that it was probably for the best.

"OK. Here's what I will do. You are now a ghost. You are not a member of the NOA and you not be recognized as one. However, you will still report back to us with whatever you have so that way we can move forward. Harry, if you get caught doing something dumb, you're on your own." Hermione ended bluntly.

"I don't really plan on doing a lot of this stuff alone." Harry replied with a chuckle.

"Whatever, Harry, I don't care what you do anymore. Just get us information that can get rid of Voldemort and Merlin and I'll be happy with you again."

With that, Hermione finally turned and made her way towards the door. Before she was able to get there, Harry raced over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, slowly turning her back around.

"I'm so sorry I left you. I promise that for as long as I live, I will be there for you."

Harry could see the tears welling up in Hermione's eyes.

"That was the last thing Ron said to me before he left for Diagon Alley." she said before she burst into tears.

Harry quickly stepped forward and brought her close. He stood there, holding her tight, as she sobbed into his soldier. Finally, about ten minutes later, Hermione came up for air.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I just didn't know what to do. I had never been alone in the Wizarding World before. Since the beginning, I've always had the two of you and then in an instant, you were both gone."

"Well, I'll never leave you again, Hermione. I promise."

Xavier stepped forward.

"Hermione, this time, we need you to be strong. You are the one who has to fight for us."

Hermione stepped away from Harry and put her arms around Xavier, who pulled her in tight. Harry watched this scene with a conflicted heart. On one side, it hurt Harry to see Hermione in the arms of someone not named Ronald Bilus Weasley. On the other, Harry knew that Hermione was much happier with him than she would have been without him and in the end, her happiness was what was most important to Harry in this situation.

"I'm gonna let you guys go, then. I have to start my research."

"No." Hermione shot back. "As my last order to you, I demand that you get some rest before you get started. You know if you don't, you'll fall asleep on the table down in the Common Room."

"True." Harry said as he made his way back to his bed. Harry felt down onto it as Xavier and Hermione made their way out of the room. Xavier left and Hermione was going to when she turned around to speak to Harry one more time.

"I really love him, Harry."

"Hermione, I just want you to be happy. I don't think you're insulting Ron's memory or anything like that. Plus, it's not like you could have picked a more respectable person to love."

"True. Good night, Harry, and welcome back." she said as she magically dimmed the lights in the room.

"Good night, Hermione." Harry said as he slipped into his dreams.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning, having slept through the rest of the previous day. It took him a couple minutes of staring and confusion to truly realize where he was. Finally, he came to his senses and realized that he was back at his four poster in Hogwarts. Slowly, Harry stood up and got ready for what was sure to be the beginning of a boring day. As he finally remembered, Hermione had kicked him out of the NOA Upper Council and Xavier had removed him from the Army as well. That made it official. Harry was no longer a part of the NOA.

It was this sudden realization that Harry felt left him cold as he got dressed in the middle of his room. Finally, once he was dressed, Harry made his way down to the Common Room where everyone else had already started eating breakfast. Harry felt every person in the room stop whatever they were doing and focus all of their attention on him. As Harry grabbed a plate and loaded it up with food that Kreacher and some of the other Hogwarts Elves had made, he could feel the stares from everyone else in the room on the back of his head. Eventually, Harry turned around and took his place next to Ginny on one of the large couches in front of the fireplace.

Suddenly, Hermione turned to him.

"I need to talk to you. In private. Now." she said as she stood up. She led Harry up the stairs once again and once she was inside the dormitory, she collapsed onto the bed closest to the door. Harry took a seat next to her feet, concerned to see Hermione so stressed out.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

Hermione didn't even bother to take her hands away from in front of her face when she replied.

"I had a dream last night."

"OK...What about?" Harry replied cautiously.

"You and Ron and I were walking out on the grounds. You and I looked perfectly normal but Ron appeared to be translucent, obviously because he's dead."

"Obviously."

"But, then Ron turned to the two of us and said 'This is the world as you see it.' Then, we were suddenly launched into this tunnel of light where we saw all of the places that we had been together. The Burrow, Hogwarts, The Ministry, all sorts of places and people. We were really happy to see all these things. I think we were just relieved that things were still good."

"More than likely." Harry replied.

"Then, Ron spoke again and he said 'This will be the world if you fail.'

"What happened then?"

"We were shown a lot of the same things, except different. The Burrow in ruins, The Ministry in ruins, Hogwarts burning. But, then we were transported to a specific place and a scene played out before us. It was Lord Voldemort and Merlin. They kept saying how things hadn't turned out how they expected."

"What do you mean? How hadn't they?"

"They kept saying that they were the last of their kind. Harry, I think that if we don't win, Muggles will find out about us and try and destroy us. I think if we fail Lord Voldemort and Merlin will end up being the last two wizards on Earth."

"What makes you think that?" Harry asked.

"Well, think about it, Harry. If he is able to kill us, he'll be able to do what he wants. Eventually, the Muggles will notice and while we may be more adept at defending ourselves, they seriously outnumber us. If they find out about us, the wizarding world as we know it will end."

"Wow." was all Harry could come up with for a reply.

Suddenly, another voice spoke up.

"Which is why you need to start researching those Scrolls now."

Both Harry and Hermione looked over and noticed Xavier standing in the doorway.

"Are you going to need any help, Harry?"

"All I can get." Harry replied with a smile.

"Then let's go to work." Xavier replied.

Harry looked back to Hermione.

"We'll stop them, Hermione. You don't need to worry about it. Once we figure out some things, we'll get them. I promise you."

For the first time since he had returned, he saw Hermione flash a small smile.

"I know we will, Harry."

Then, Harry stood up and turned to Xavier.

"Library?"

"Merlin's beard I hate that place. Let's go."

* * *

**07.18.2006**

For the next three weeks, Harry and Xavier spent every minute of every day pouring themselves into reading the Scrolls. For the most part, they were pretty boring and while Harry knew that what he really needed was at the end, he felt that he couldn't skip anything. Harry felt that the best way to defeat Merlin would be to truly know what he was like before his death and what made his do it.

Finally, after three excruciatingly long weeks, they reached the point that Harry had been looking for. When he got there, he read aloud.

"At 200 years of age, my body is finally ready to pass on. However, I know that without me, the Wizarding World will sink into oblivion. Therefore, I shall become the first to experiment with a rare piece of Dark Magic known as a Horcrux. The methodology for how to create a Horcrux is disgusting and I fear that I cannot relate it here. Suffice it to say that I believe myself fully capable of creating one. Within the next week as I prepare myself for this, I also realize that I must say goodbye to those close to me for in order to return I must first die. Truthfully, everytime I look at my wife, tears come to my eyes for I know what I must do to her in order to retain my life. In the end, I know that sacrificing her life will benefit Pureblood Wizards everywhere. I have also made the decision to use my youngest son, Salazar, as the container for my soul. He is easily the best of my children and I know that because he shares the same feelings that I do about Blood Status. I wonder what shall happen when my son has a child. Will the soul pass to that child or will it forever remain with the body of my son?"

"Jeez, he did it." Xavier added as Harry finished reading.

"Yeah, lucky for us, more research on Horcruxes has been done since Merlin's first time. I remember reading during Auror Training that back in the 70s, the Department of Mysteries did a lot of research on Horcruxes. They determined that the soul fragment will remain with the carrier until it dies and then it will be transferred to the first-born child of the carrier and so on and so forth."

"What happens if that person doesn't have a child?" Xavier asked Harry.

"Then it will remain with the body."

"Harry, could it be possible?" Xavier said a look of understanding.

"What?"

"When you had a piece of Lord Voldemort in you, you said you picked up on some of his qualities and occasionally his mannerisms, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't see what this has to do with that." Harry responded in confusion.

"It has everything to do with this! We just confirmed the Merlin's first Horcrux was Salazar Slytherin. Now, who is the only remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin left?"

"Lord Voldemort."

"Yes! Do you think it's possible that some of the power and some of the arrogance that Voldemort has is because of Merlin's influence?"

Instantly, Harry realized where he was going.

"You think that part of the reason that Lord Voldemort was so evil and so powerful was because he housed part of Merlin's soul in him."

"Yes! It all makes perfect sense. It gave Voldemort extraordinary power and probably fueled his blood purity craze."

"Of course. He was raised in an orphanage, apart from the wizarding world. Why else would he be so concerned with blood purity? He wouldn't have known that it was a big deal until he got here and then he probably wouldn't have been one to be influenced by those around him."

Xavier stood and began pacing. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back to Harry.

"You realized what we're saying? We're saying that part of the reason Lord Voldemort was as bad as he was was a result of having part of Merlin's soul stuck inside of him."

"We are saying that and now we know what we need to do to get rid of Merlin." Harry stated. "We need to kill Lord Voldemort."


	9. The First

**07.19.2006**

After three weeks of researching, they finally had come up with something. Hermione had spent the past three weeks waiting for Xavier and Harry to come up with something out of the Scrolls and thankfully, Xavier had come to her, stating that he wanted an Upper Council meeting called for the next day. While he gave her this much, he refused to tell her anything more, saying that he wanted everyone there to learn of the information they had discovered.

So, after waiting all night and through most of the day, Hermione was finally going to learn what the two had learned. As she walked into the room, she was pleased to see that she was the last person on the Upper Council, now down to ten with the loss of Harry and Ron, to arrive. In fact, she heard them before she entered the room. The fact that they were about to actually learn something and do something after three weeks of relative inactive was obviously exciting them.

"Alright guys, let's get down to business. Now, before I invite Harry in and let Xavier and Harry do they're presenting, I would like to say something. I know that a lot of you disagreed with my decision to remove Harry from his position within the Upper Council. I am not sure myself that it was right decision. However, I believe that for the general membership of the NOA, seeing Harry punished for his desertion was something that needed to happen. It proved to them that no one, not even Harry, is above the NOA. Does anyone have anything they would like to say before we start?"

Draco Malfoy raised his hand and stood in the back of the room.

"I agree with you, Granger, but I think that we need to be careful with this." he said softly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione replied.

"I think that punishing Potter for leaving is the right thing to do, but we don't want to lose him. If he leaves again or if he decides not to support us anymore, I think that we'll lose a lot of people here. For each person here for you or me or Xavier, there are fifty here to support Harry."

Hermione stood there, almost dumb founded. She hadn't even really considered that, which definitely disappointed her as she prided herself in thinking through everything. Lucky for her, Xavier was there to cover for her.

"I can guarantee you, Draco, that Hermione and I considered everything when we leveled our punishment for Harry. Now, if you don't mind, Hermione, I would like to get this show rolling."

"That sounds great, Xavier." Hermione said before turning to the rest of the room. "Does anyone have anything else?"

No one made any movement. In fact, everyone looked ready to go. Seeing what she saw, Xavier quickly moved his way to the door. With a quick motion, he had opened it and Harry had slipped inside. Hermione could tell that he was uncomfortable being back in the meeting after he had been kicked out so unceremoniously.

"Hey." was all Harry said as he entered the room.

No one responded and Hermione could tell that even though he had been back for just as long as he had been gone, people were still angry. Namely those in the room.

"OK. A quick backdrop before we tell you what we found within the Scrolls. When we brought Dumbledore back to life and he found out that Merlin was back, he spent a lot of time in the library researching on him. He eventually read a text from The Department of Mysteries nearly 600 years ago. There, it said that within the castle of Camelot, the secret fortress of King Arthur and Merlin, was a text that chronicled the life of Merlin. With further reading, he read about four castles that were built across Europe at nearly the exact same time as Camelot. He correctly guessed that within each castle was part of the power that kept Camelot a secret and by entering the castle and beating its magic, you could learn the location of Camelot."

"How vud Dumbledore haff known somethink like this?" Viktor asked from the far side of the room. Xavier stepped forward and answered.

"Because this is Dumbledore we're talking about. The man has an incredibly uncanny ability to deduce meanings in the smallest of things."

"What power was held in these castles?" Katarine Krueger, head of the German armed forces, called from the back. It was the first time Hermione could remember any of the three foreign leaders talking during an Upper Council meetings.

"During our journey, we learned that the four founders of Hogwarts were the children of Merlin. So, each castle head a challenge from each of the founders. Once I had beaten their challenges, I was sent to Camelot where we collected the Scrolls. After a detour in France, I came back here."

"Harry and I have been studying the Scrolls for well over two weeks now and we believe that we have discovered the key to defeating both Voldemort and Merlin."

"Vat is it?" Aleksandar asked quietly from the back. Hermione thought that they must be worried if they were talking so much.

Harry stepped forward and his figure returned to the strong authoritative figure that it had been in the past.

"Before he died, Merlin created a Horcrux."

Instantly, the room was thrown into a panic.

"How the hell are we supposed to beat him now?" Percy screamed from the far end of the long table.

"We believe that we know what the Horcrux is." Xavier replied.

"Well, what is it?" George asked, being markedly more patient than his older brother.

"When he created his Horcux, he put the broken portion of his soul in the body of his youngest son. This son was the only one he deemed worthy of carrying on his tradition. That son...was Salazar Slytherin."

Hermione nearly fell out of her chair at Harry's words. Salazar Slytherin, a Horcrux? Suddenly, she was driven to speak.

"Harry, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Hermione asked in fear.

"Yes. We believe that as his last remaining descendant, Lord Voldemort is Merlin's Horcrux."

While Hermione had been expecting the room to explode with this news, it did the opposite. The room got deathly quiet. For a couple minutes, no one spoke as they attempted to digest this horrible news. Finally, Draco spoke up.

"How do we stop him?"

"In order to kill Merlin outright, we will first have to kill Voldemort. If I am correct, without any further descendants, the Horcrux should die with Lord Voldemort." Harry replied.

"Great." George said quietly. "No one's ever really beaten him and now the only way to get rid of BOTH of them is to kill him. Just great."

"We can do it, George." Xavier said from the other side of Harry. "Harry has beaten Voldemort once before, he can do it again."

"It was a fluke." George replied. "Harry has admitted numerous times that the only reason he beat Voldemort was because he was technically the Master of the Elder Wand."

"That may be true. But, I think that we can do it. We just need to work together to do it." Xavier returned.

Hermione realized that this meeting might slowly spiral out of control if she didn't rein everyone in soon.

"Alright, we now know what we're up against. Let's take a break and we'll meet back here again tomorrow at the same time. Everyone think about any ideas that you may have that would give us a one-up against Voldemort and Merlin."

Then, she turned to Xavier and Harry.

"I want to talk with you two. Your office, Xavier?" she asked.

"Great." Xavier replied with a smile.

Finally, she turned back to the room in general.

"Until we know what we're going to do, please don't tell anyone outside of this room what we know. When we know what we're going to do to stop them, then we'll inform the general membership, alright?"

No one said anything in reply. Hermione took that to mean that they agreed.

"Alright guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Hermione, Harry, and Xavier were in the Headmaster's Office to discuss what Hermione had just learned.

"OK. How do we go about this?" Hermione asked Harry and Xavier.

"It's pretty simple, Hermione." Xavier replied. "Someone has to kill Voldemort in order to kill Merlin."

"And we don't want it to be Merlin." Harry added.

"Why not?" Hermione replied.

"Voldemort was the only person that could have destroyed the Horcrux inside me and not killed me at the same time. If Merlin for whatever reason would try and kill Voldemort, there is a possibility that he would kill the Horcrux instead of Voldemort."

"Either way, the Horcrux would be destroyed, right?"

"Yes, but I think it would be ideal to kill Voldemort and the Horcrux at the same time. I imagine that if Voldemort gets killed and then is brought back to life, he's going to be bloody pissed off." Harry replied.

Hermione paced around the office as Harry took his usual place on the other side of Xavier's desk. Xavier was seated at his normal place behind the desk. Also, as normal, he was working on something related to the school. Hermione wondered if he did this to trick himself into thinking that things would be normal by the time school started in the fall. That is if it started at all.

"You guys do realize that part of your plan requires that we kill the only Dark Wizard who has never been defeated in a duel, right?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed deeply before he responded.

"We know, Hermione." Harry said despondently. "But it's the only way things can be done."

"But the only person who ever even fought him to draw was Dumbledore." Hermione replied, getting more worried as she thought about it. Harry was a great wizard but she wasn't sure if even he possessed the raw power of Voldemort or Dumbledore.

Apparently, her constant second guessing had gotten to Harry. He stood up and began pacing alongside her. Finally, he boiled over and grabbed the small table next to him. In one fluid motion, he picked up the table and threw it at a bookshelf across the room.

"GODDAMN IT!" Harry screamed. "When do we get a break? How is that they always have a back-up plan? How do things always work out for them?"

Eventually, he calmed down and returned to his seat by the desk, his head in his hands.

"Harry, we know what we need to do now. It makes things a lot easier for us now."

"No." Harry replied. "It doesn't. Not even by a little bit."

"I know that killing Voldemort or Merlin won't be easy but now we have a target."

"An impossible one." Harry replied. "When I was in Camelot, the Four Founders said that in order to beat 'The White Wizard,' you needed to have the power of the First Wizard."

Hermione looked at Xavier in confusion then turned back to Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"I have no idea what I mean, Hermione." Harry said despondently. "But they said I couldn't just be as powerful as whoever he or she was. I literally had to have that person's power."

"Well, you know what this means?" Hermione asked Harry, a small smile on her face.

"What? And how could you possibly be smiling right now?" Harry asked, almost in anger.

Hermione looked over to Xavier and smiled before returning her vision to Harry.

"I'm smiling because it's time to return to the library."

"Are you serious? We don't have time for that, Hermione." Harry replied in obvious frustration.

"Of course we do, Harry. We need to know who the first wizard was and what kind of power he held. I'm sure that the extensive library here can give us the answers we need."

"Hermione..."

"Harry! Tomorrow morning, we're waking up early and going to the library. Now, does anyone have any idea where to look?"

"Actually, I do."

Hermione nearly jumped out of her seat across from Harry. Xavier had been so quiet that she had forgotten that he was there.

"What?" Harry asked before Hermione could get to it.

"Having been raised by Squibs who returned to the Muggle World, I have a unique understanding of both worlds. If you look at Muggle Mythology, almost all of it comes from a magical place. Gods were simply crafty wizards."

"OK. That's great, but where does that put us? We don't even have records that date back as far as some of the Muggle myths."

"No, but we might be able to figure it out by cross-referencing Muggle myths with Wizarding history texts."

"So, where would you suggest we start?" Hermione asked him. She had been thinking along this lines but Xavier's knowledge of Wizarding history was more extensive than even hers. Xavier loved Wizarding History and had he not been such a great Auror, he probably would have been a Wizarding Historian if given the opportunity.

"I would say that there are three significant time periods that would be important to look at. First, the high time of the Egyptian Empire. It was then that the thought of multiple gods really came into the forefront of life there. Next, I would suggest looking at Jerusalem around 30 AD."

"The Bible?" Hermione asked, familiar with Muggle culture to know where he was going.

"Yes. Rumors of a man who was killed and then came back to life three days later. I'm almost positive that that's a wizard, whether he was the first one or not I have no clue. Either that or just an incredibly sensational story."

"And the last?" Harry asked with interest.

"Well, I would suggest heading back to Norway. Everyone knows that Norse Mythology is magical in nature."

"Who specifically?" Hermione asked.

"Definitely either Odin or Thor. Odin could have been fantasized by the fact that his son had these abilities. Thor is rumored to be the most powerful wizard to ever walk this planet. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that he would be the first one ever."

"So Egypt, Israel, or Norway?" Harry wondered aloud. "Any place else?"

"None that would make sense." Xavier replied as he returned to his work.

"Alright then we'll work with those. 7 o'clock tomorrow morning we meet in the Common Room, ok?" Hermione added.

"Sounds good." Xavier replied.

"Great." Harry said.

"Good. Then let's get out of here and let Xavier find more teachers for next year." Hermione said to Harry with a wink towards Hermione.

"Very funny, Hermione." Xavier replied. "I'll be down to the Common Room for dinner in about an hour. I'll see you guys then."

Hermione laughed to herself as she stood up and went to leave. Suddenly, she turned and made her way back to Xavier, leaving Harry to wander out into the castle alone. She quickly grabbed his head and pulled him close. Then, she placed a quick kiss on the top of his head, which she noticed made him smile, a rare thing these days.

"I love you, Hermione." he said from underneath the arms that were wrapped around his head.

"I love you too." Hermione replied before she planted another kiss on his head and ran out of the room. She still wasn't sure what it was but something about him made her feel safe and no matter what she thought about being in a relationship with him, she couldn't deny that she liked that.

* * *

Hermione watched as Harry threw the book he was reading on the floor, grudgingly moving on to the next book.

"Harry, we'll find something." Hermione said as she noticed the grim look he was giving.

"I know we will, Hermione. We always do. I just hate looking through all these books. I skipped my last year at Hogwarts for a reason." Harry replied as he slowly massaged his temples.

"Harry, wasn't that because a crazy madman was trying to kill you?" Xavier said in a rare attempt at humor.

"True, but even that was better than trying to sit through my N.E.W.T. exams. Exams never seemed to go normal for me and I figured they would have probably been the worst so I'm bloody thankful that I got out of them."

After a quick chuckle, the three of them returned to work. Finally, nearly three hours later, Hermione found exactly what she was looking for in a book about the connections between Muggle Mythology and Muggle History.

"Harry! Xavier! I think I've found what we're looking for!"

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise as he launched himself from the chair he had been relaxing in.

"I found a book titled _Muggles and Magic: Our Connection Through History."_

_"_Really?" Xavier asked. "Doesn't that seem to simple?"

"Apparently magical historians have been looking into our connections for quite some time. Basically, from what I've read, the stories of Egypt and Biblical Israel were stories created by wizards after the fact. They took already sensational people from the time and just gave them magical abilities. However, it seems that Norse mythology was the real deal. Thor was definitely a wizard."

"But, do we know that he was the first one?" Harry asked with curiosity.

"They say that there's no definitive proof that he was the first but he's the first one we have proof of, if that makes any sense." Hermione replied.

"We understand, Hermione." Xavier replied with a smile. "What does it say about him?"

"It says: _Thor was the first wizard that the world had physical proof of. Books and speeches written by Thor himself have been found in numerous magical archives within Norway and Sweden. Most scholars agree that he is one of the earliest existing wizards, if not the first alone."_

"Is that it?" Harry asked impatiently.

"It goes on to talk about his history but it doesn't mention the fact that he might be the first wizard again." Hermione said softly.

"That's still great." Xavier replied as he sat back down. "I think we can at least agree that Thor seems to be the direction we should be leaning."

Hermione was about to reply when Bill Weasley came sprinting into the room.

"Harry! Death Eaters in Hogsmeade!" he breathed. He had obviously ran from wherever he had been at previously.

Harry quickly turned to Hermione.

"I don't have any say in this." he said shortly.

"He's right. Xavier, this one's on you. Get our men outside and ready to go. I want a counter-attack in one half hour." Hermione ordered quickly. She was not used to being a military leader but sometimes she knew that it just needed to be done.

"Done." Xavier replied before he turned to Harry. "I know you aren't technically under my control. However, I want you out there. Thankfully, Hogsmeade was evacuated when Voldemort revealed himself to the world. Please, Harry, get out there and do whatever you can to get them out of here. I don't care if you have to burn down the whole village."

"Got it." Harry replied. Hermione noticed a small smirk appear on Harry's face when Xavier allowed him to burn the village down.

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, Harry had sprinted over to Hogsmeade Village under cover of his Invisibility Cloak. Once he reached the abandoned town, he climbed to the roof of The Three Broomsticks. From there, he could see a large group of men and women, all dressed in black. Also from his spot, he could tell that Snape was with them, likely in charge. Harry knew that this would be of a distinct advantage to him.

So, instead of the full-on destruction of Hogsmeade like he had already planned, he hopped down from the roof and made his way to the center of town. As he stood outside the large group, he leveled his wand at the large statue in the middle of the square.

_"Confringo!"_

Instantly, the statue exploded, frightening the men standing just around it. Snape turned and saw Harry and instantly went to work.

"WANDS DOWN!" Snape ordered. "Potter is here!"

Moments later, everyone had put their wands away even though they still looked anxious. Snape stepped forward and got inches from Harry.

"So, Potter, it seems that you have returned from your vacation." he growled.

"It was great, thanks for asking. Got to see Paris, kill some Death Eaters, it was wonderful." Harry smiled back.

"Oh, I'm sure it was."

Suddenly, Harry could feel Snape invade his mind just as Xavier had done.

**"Are they coming?" **Snape thought.

**"They'll be in here in less than three minutes." **Harry replied into Snape's head.

"Potter, you were foolish to have come here alone."

**"Where are they coming from?" **

"Who says I came alone?" Harry replied, still using a sarcastic smirk.

**"Knowing Xavier, they'll work their way around to the back side of town and then make their way through."**

"True, Potter. I guess we will just have to find out. I'm sure the Dark Lord will want to speak to you though. Why don't we just call him here and have a little chat between the three of us?"

**"I'll move the Death Eaters to guard towards the castle. Now, I want you to curse me and then turn and run. I'll protect you from the ground."**

"You know what, Snape? I hate that idea!"

In a flash, Harry drew his wand and threw sparks at Snape. In one of the best acting jobs Harry had ever seen, he did a huge backflip and landed flat on his stomach. What none of the Death Eaters could see was the fact that he was still awake and laying with his wand facing Harry, ready to conjure the spells that were sure to come. As he suspected, his men immediately opened fire on Harry. With a quick whip of his wand, he was able to block the spells. And he even did it close enough to Harry that it looked like he was the one blocking them.

Harry sprinted away from the town center and towards the outskirts of town. Sure enough, he met Xavier with around 100 men and women, most of them from the foreign armies, making their way around the outside of town.

"Xavier!" Harry shouted as he ran towards them.

"Harry, what is it?" Xavier replied in a panic. It was obvious that Harry had scared them.

"Snape is leading the Death Eaters. He's going to move his men so they're defending the direction we would come from if we came straight from the castle." Harry informed his leader.

"That's great!" Xavier replied with excitement. He quickly turned around to those behind him. "We should have the element of surprise! However, this means that we are going into town completely silent. Don't dare make a single noise!"

The next few minutes were tense as Harry, Xavier, and their small army made their way silently around the town. When they finally reached the road to enter from the rear end of town, Xavier once again motioned for silence and began to proceed through the small town. Within seconds, they were just behind the center of town, ready to pounce. As promised, the Death Eaters were facing the wrong way and were prime for an attack.

_"Snape is on our side. Anyone else is free game." _Xavier whispered down the line.

When he was confident that the message had been passed, he gave the go-ahead and the assault began. Harry couldn't believe their luck. The Death Eaters were caught totally unprepared. Harry made his way towards Snape. In order to make sure that Snape wasn't accidentally killed in action, Harry had a plan. When he reached Snape, he pointed his wand.

_"Stupefy!"_

The spell hit Snape square in the chest and he was flung backwards. Within just a couple of minutes, the rest of the Death Eaters were either dead, severely injured, or unconscious.

"We have Snape. Leave the rest." Harry said before he made his way to Snape.

_"Rennervate." _Harry said simply.

Instantly, Snape was awakened.

"You could have warned me." Snape said grumpily as he got to his feet.

"No. Then it wouldn't have looked authentic." Harry replied simply.

"Let's get back to the castle." Xavier said shortly.

* * *

About an hour later, the Upper Council plus Harry and Snape were convened in the Great Hall. Only Snape, Harry, and Xavier had been part of the attack and so the other members were being briefed as to what happened. Once they were done telling their story, Arthur Weasley had a question.

"Severus, why were you here?"

Everyone immediately looked at Snape.

"We were here to destroy Hogsmeade. Merlin and Voldemort hope to force you into being more active. So, they sent us here to destroy Hogsmeade. There are a lot of supplies and such in the town. Regardless of the house elves, eventually we will run out of supplies and with nowhere safe to get them, we will need to act."

Instantly, Harry stood up.

"I know that I'm not a member of the Upper Council anymore, but I think we need to get those supplies. If we don't, they could send another group of Death Eaters here soon and that one is not likely to have someone who is going to give up his entire army to us."

"I agree." Hermione replied. "We'll make preparations to begin retrieving those supplies tomorrow. Until then, everyone relax for the rest of tonight andget a good night's sleep and we'll talk in the morning. 10 o'clock in the usual place."

With that, everyone quickly and quietly made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. It was a quiet night in Gryffindor Tower. The first in a long time and the last for even longer.


	10. Another Try

**07.20.2006**

Harry woke up early the next morning. It was a dark and dreary day outside despite being the middle of July. Once he managed to find his glasses, he got dressed and headed down to the Common Room. He wasn't surprised to find it empty. He knew that Hermione had called a meeting of the Upper Council to determine what to do about the supplies in Hogsmeade and the plans that Voldemort had. Snape had been invited, Harry was not. While he couldn't pretend he wasn't a little upset by this, it was easy to let go.

So, instead of going to the meeting, he went outside for a walk until Ginny got back. He was about twenty minutes into his walk when he saw someone standing over by the Quidditch pitch. Harry moved as quickly as he could without being heard until he got within twenty meters of his target. Instantly, he drew his wand in order to protect himself from the intruder. However, as he got even close, he realized his mistake.

"Tell Ariana that I'm sorry." he said softly. "Tell Mother I'm sorry. Aberforth, I'm sorry."

In his panic, Harry hadn't bothered to look and see who it actually was. Now, he saw the "intruders" identity.

"Good morning, Harry." Dumbledore said without looking up from the ground.

Harry quickly stood up from his hiding place and walked towards Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Albus. What are you doing down here?" Harry asked curiously.

"Simply paying my respects." Dumbledore responded softly.

Harry noticed that numerous other graves had been added to the one Xavier had originally placed there when Demelza had been tortured.

"Albus..." Harry began, recognizing the old man's misery.

"Don't, Harry." Albus replied sharply. Harry had never heard this tone from Dumbledore before: anger.

"Albus, you can't blame yourself for what happened to Aberforth." Harry stated simply.

Dumbledore gave a deep sigh before he responded.

"In the past, I may have believed you, Harry. However, with Aberforth's death, I remember why I left Hogwarts in the first place." Dumbledore replied, looking every bit his age.

"Why?"

"To escape the horror of war. Simple enough, I am tired of dealing with the wars of our world, Harry. First it was my dearest friend, Grindelwald. Gellert decided that power and war were more important than friendship and love. Then, Tom Riddle. Tom, an incredibly promising student lost to the power of his own abilities. When Tom became Voldemort, he became something worse than what Gellert had become, something I didn't think was possible. Finally, the great power of Merlin has returned. However, instead of being the benevolent leader we were led to believe he was, he is a cruel and arrogant man who seeks to use his power to destroy and rule the world."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to give up, Albus."

"Well then what does Harry? When will I have served my time?" Dumbledore asked. As upset Harry was that Dumbledore would talk like this to him, it was comforting to know that Dumbledore was in fact human.

"Albus, my parents were killed when I was 1. My godfather died when I was 15. My mentor was killed in front of my own eyes when I was 17. Dobby was killed trying to protect me from Bellatrix. Remus and Tonks were killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. I myself was killed twice! But that's not even the worst part. I've watched my adopted family's life get torn apart when two of their sons were killed. One of these sons was my best friend in the whole world and I miss him every single day and I have no doubt that I will until the day I die. However, despite the many times that I wanted to give in, I didn't. I keep fighting. All I'm asking, Albus, is that you try and do the same thing. For Ron, Fred, Dobby, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, James, Lily, Demelza, and Aberforth. For everyone that might die before we are able to defeat Voldemort and Merlin. For everyone."

Dumbledore didn't reply at all. Instead, he simply just walked away. Finally, Harry couldn't handle it anymore.

"You quit." Harry said simply.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore replied softly, turning back towards Harry.

"You were always the person I looked up to. Always. Now, I know that I'm not the most powerful wizard. However, I do know that I've worked hard to be able to fight against those that are stronger than me. I have no doubt that I could defeat Lord Voldemort in battle, regardless of the difference in power."

"What does this have to do with me, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"You are one of the most powerful wizards to ever live. The most powerful Dark Wizard of all time was frightened just by the thought of fighting you. I understand that things have been tough for you. In fact, if there's anyone that can understand that, it's me. If I had the power that you have, I couldn't even consider quitting."

"Harry, this isn't my fight. Not anymore."

"And why not?" Harry asked sharply.

"I just don't have a stake in it. Not after Aberforth's death. When he died, so did any lingering desire I had to fight."

"So, you would rather let the world fall into darkness than try and save it?"

"You know it's not like that, Harry. I just can't do it anymore."

Harry got within inches of Dumbledore before he spoke again.

"Why?" Harry asked menacingly.

"I just don't want to." Dumbledore replied quietly.

"You don't want to! That's it? Do you think I want to?" Harry asked in anger.

"I think you've always been built to fight. It's in your blood, Harry."

"It's not! I hate it! The fact that I know there's no way around killing Merlin and Voldemort sickens me! All I want to do is lock them up and throw away the key but I know that with them, it won't ever be enough!" Harry shouted at the elderly wizard.

"I'm just not built to fight, Harry. I never have been."

Harry turned around in disgust. He was ready to walk away when he had a brilliant idea.

"Well, I think you have one more fight in you." Harry said with a sneer that Draco would have been proud of.

"What?"

"Here's the deal: You fight me. If you win, you can leave or stay or go wherever you want to go. If you lose, you stay until I say you can leave."

Dumbledore seemed shocked at Harry's proposal.

"I won't do it, Harry. Firstly, I don't think you can beat me and therefore, you would be wasting your precious time. Secondly, in a time when everyone appears to be your enemy, I would never want to fight the one person left who I can call my friend."

Harry laughed heartily before he replied.

"I'm not your friend, Dumbledore. Not anymore. I would do anything to help my friends. You just walk away."

Suddenly, Harry saw an expression in Dumbledore he hadn't seen before. His reply let Harry know that this face was one of agitation.

"Fine, Harry."

Instantly, Dumbledore drew his wand and launched his attack. Harry easily side-stepped it and then countered.

_"Stupefy!"_

Dumbledore was almost too slow. However, he was just barely able to get out of the way before the attack reached him.

"Harry, your wand time is much quicker than I remember seeing from you."

Harry chuckled. He knew that Dumbledore couldn't be too angry if he was still complimenting him.

"Yeah and just think, I don't even have to call out my spells anymore."

With that, Harry fired a silent Stinging Hex at Dumbledore. This time, Dumbledore was much quicker and easily blocked the hex. From there on out, neither of them bothered with verbally casting spells, preferring to silently attack.

What Harry and Dumbledore didn't realize was that the Upper Council had moved their meeting from their typical location under the Headmaster's Office to Hogsmeade so that they could assess the supplies in the village. While the rest of the Council had moved inside, Charlie, Xavier, and Ginny had remained outside to talk. When they reached the other side of the castle, they saw the flashes of the battle between Harry and Albus and sprinted towards the Quidditch Pitch.

As they got closer, they realized who was fighting and silently approached the battle. Harry noticed Ginny's presence as they got closer and hoped they wouldn't interrupt. Unlike most battles where the pace was quicker and more energetic, the battle between Harry and Dumbledore was more powerful and more deliberate. Each attack was like blast from a cannon that connected with the shield of the other.

Suddenly, Harry changed that pace. In a moment, he fired a barrage of attacks. For nearly three minutes, he silently launched every attack he could think of. Those watching could only marvel at the pace Harry was setting. Finally, Harry noticed the opening he had been looking for. Dumbledore had slowly been weakening and his shield looked much weaker than when he had started his assault.

So, finally, Harry concluded his assault with a huge attack.

_**"CONFRINGO!"**_

Instantly, Dumbledore's shield crumpled and he was flung backwards nearly thirty yards. As he slowly tried to make his way back to his feet, Harry sprinted to his mentor and aimed his wand at the elderly man who was still on all fours on the ground.

"Yield." he said strongly.

Dumbledore may have tried to spring an attack on someone else, but he knew that someone has trained as Harry would be ready for it. He dropped his wand out in front of Harry, obviously depressed.

"I am at your disposal until you release me." Dumbledore said softly.

"Thank you." Harry replied as he extended a hand to Dumbledore. After Dumbledore grabbed his wand, he took Harry's hand and stood.

"I am impressed Harry. You have outstripped even what I thought you were capable of. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Thanks, Albus."

"Now, if you don't mind, I will be back in the castle." Dumbledore said before he swiftly walked away. The second he was gone, the other three ran to him. Ginny was the first to approach.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked.

"He wanted to leave. I reminded him that we still needed him."

"So why the duel?" Xavier asked.

"I told him that if he won he could leave."

"And if he lost?" Charlie inquired.

"He wasn't allowed to leave until I released him from duty. He's my lieutenant now." Harry replied.

"Wow." Xavier returned, obviously shocked. "Do you think he was actually going all out?"

Harry thought for just a moment before he replied.

"I know he was. I could feel the power behind each of his attacks. Despite his age, he's still got it." Harry said with a smile.

* * *

About thirty minutes after watching the two greatest wizards of his time duel, Xavier was back in his office, doing work for the upcoming school year. He knew that he was fooling himself into thinking that things were going to work out and that Hogwarts would be back open in time for school. Regardless, he had to do it. It was one of the few things that kept him sane. Lucky for him, the other one happened to walk in the room.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked as she took a seat to his right on his desk. It was her favorite place to sit and distract him from his work.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Xavier said with a chuckle.

"Really?" Hermione asked with surprise.

"Definitely."

Suddenly, Hermione slipped off the desk and onto Xavier's lap. Instantly, Xavier knew that he was done working.

"You should tell me." Hermione said, looking deep into Xavier's eyes.

"I was watching Harry and Dumbledore duel." Xavier replied shortly. He relished the look in her eyes when she realized what he had said.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Apparently Dumbledore wanted to leave again. Harry was pretty honked off about that, so he challenged him to a duel. If Dumbledore lost, he would have to stay under Harry's command."

Hermione appeared to let this sink in for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Did he win?" she asked, obviously curious.

"He destroyed him. I'm still not one hundred percent sure that Dumbledore was going as hard as he could, but after seeing what I saw, I don't think it would have mattered."

"Xavier, you realize what you're saying, right? Dumbledore is widely recognized as one of the top two duelists in the last two hundred years, if not ever! You're saying that Harry beat him that badly?"

Xavier looked back up right into Hermione's eyes.

"I don't know what I'm saying. All I know is that I've never been worried about not being able to beat somebody in a duel. After watching Harry today, I think he could beat me. To cap off the duel, he spent probably five minutes launching continuous spells and curses."

"What kind?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Everything. I saw some Stinging Hexes, some Stunners, a few of the Exploding Curse, and some others that I didn't even recognize. He spent all that time throwing everything and then some at Dumbledore. The spells never got weaker, in fact, I feel like they got stronger."

"Wow, I didn't realize he was that good."

"I think Harry fights to the ability of his opponent. But that's just my theory. I think that in the end, Harry is going to have to challenge that by defeating Voldemort."

With that, Hermione stood up and began pacing the room.

"We all know Harry is powerful. But do you really think that Harry will try and kill Voldemort? He didn't want to do it the first time around. What makes it different?"

Xavier smile before he responded.

"Before I reply, know this. I don't pretend to know Harry nearly as well you do. You've been through things with him that I can't even imagine. In fact, if there's one person on this Earth that you would understand, it would be him. That being said, I've seen a few things from Harry recently."

"Like what?" Hermione asked, brimming with curiousity.

"His willingness to do what is necessary, regardless of whether he likes it or not. In Paris, during the Death Eater attack, Harry leveled his wand and he killed Dolores Umbridge."

"Seriously?" Hermione asked, shocked by this news.

"Yes. Now, it is my understanding that Harry typically doesn't kill people?" Xavier replied.

"Never. Although, if there was any one person that Harry would want to kill, it would have been Umbridge."

"But in the past, he never would have done it, correct?"

Hermione simply nodded her reply.

"I believe that Harry has come to an understanding." Xavier said simply.

"What understanding?" Hermione asked incessantly.

"That ideals can no longer save us. The time is gone where Dumbledore could blab on about love and respect. I think that he understands that it no longer matters. He has no protection from Voldemort and Voldemort none against him. In the end, the only way to win is to kill Merlin and Voldemort. There's no tricky backdoor or Elder Wand mishap that is going to save us now."

"Do you really believe that Harry will kill Voldemort?" Hermione asked as she began pacing again.

"If he doesn't, we fall."

"Why do you say that? We both know that you would be able to beat Voldemort too."

"I don't think so. You see in order to defeat someone like Voldemort, you need something more than just raw power. You need an inner strength, a strength that no one can put out. I've wanted to quit, Dumbledore wanted to quit, we've all wanted to quit. Harry just wanted to grieve, to feel. In fact, I think the only other person that could defeat Lord Voldemort, Hermione, is you."

"What?" Hermione nearly screamed in shock.

"You have that same inner strength, Hermione. While you are not necessarily the same as Harry, you share the same power, the same ability to fight when no one else can. I think that, in the end, you will be the one who gives Harry the power to continue."

"Why do you think that?" Hermione asked softly, the shock of Xavier's statement still not completely worn off.

"Because Harry will need strength from someone. Who has Harry known longer than you? Who has been through more with him? Who else possess that same strength? It's going to be you, Hermione."

For the next few minutes, Xavier and Hermione sat in silence. Finally, Hermione stood up and grabbed Xavier's hands and pulled him up to her. For the next few moments, they embraced as if they were one. Suddenly, Hermione whispered into Xavier's ear.

"If I am going to give Harry my strength, I will need some of yours."

Xavier turned his head and placed a small kiss on her cheek before he replied.

"You'll have it. Always."

* * *

Later that evening, Harry and Ginny sat alone out by the lake. After his duel with Dumbledore, it hadn't been a particularly eventful day, although the battle itself was very eventful. So, after the short battle, he set out to find the most uneventful way to spend his way. So, he quickly grabbed Ginny and headed out to the grounds. There, he and Ginny simply walked and talked about the most mundane things. From how bad the Chudley Cannons were to what they thought the next products at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes would be.

Finally, they made it to where they were. There, they simply sat and enjoyed each other's company. Sometimes they would talk, others they would kiss, but even more they would just sit in silence and enjoy the beautiful sunset over the lake. Finally, Ginny spoke up.

"Do you really think we'll ever get away from it all?"

Harry looked at Ginny before he replied. She hadn't broken her eyes away from the gorgeous sunset. However, Harry could tell that she wasn't really paying attention to it anymore.

"What do you mean?" Harry replied softly.

"Just all this. This war, Voldemort. Everything. Do you think we'll ever get away?"

Harry thought about this for a moment. He had always hoped that once everything was over that things could return to normal. He had once gone ten years without thinking about Lord Voldemort or Merlin. Now, he admitted that he couldn't go ten minutes without thinking about them.

"Do you think that it will ever end?" she asked again.

"I think it will. I think it will be tough and that we're all going to need to heal. But if we can win, and if something catastrophic doesn't happen before then, we will."

Ginny seemed to let that sink in. Suddenly, just when Harry thought she was done asking questions, she spoke up again.

"Do you really think it will be done for you?" she asked, this time she was much more direct.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, it took you almost four years to be "done" the last time." Ginny replied, obviously annoyed.

Instantly, Harry knew what she was talking about.

* * *

**03.29.1998**

Nearly ten months had gone by since Voldemort's death and Harry hadn't been wasting time getting on with his career of choice. After a two month vacation to Eastern Europe with the Weasley's and Hermione, Harry had enlisted in the Auror Academy. Almost everyone knew that he could have skipped it if he had wanted to but Harry felt that he didn't need the special treatment anymore. However, after seven months in the Academy (and just two weeks ago), Harry was ready to take his Auror Aptitute Test.

Today, Harry and Ron both had a meeting with Kingsley today to discuss their scores. They both knew that a meeting with the Minister of Magic was rare but not altogether unheard of.

Together, they sat outside Kingsley's office, waiting for the Minister of finish up with someone else.

"Do you think we're in trouble?" Ron asked. Harry could tell by the look on his face that he was obviously nervous.

"Ron, this is Kingsley. I doubt we're in trouble." Harry said reassuringly. "I am curious as to why we're meeting with him, instead of Mills or his Junior Head."

Suddenly, the door to Kingsley's office opened and someone that Harry had not expected to see walked out.

"Harry! It's so good to see you, dear boy." Cornelius Fudge exclaimed.

Harry was too taken back to respond. Lucky for Harry, he had Ron.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Well, Mr. Weasley, just because I am no longer Minister does not mean I am invaluable." Fudge replied, no longer as jovial as before.

"That's doubtful." Ron whispered.

"Really, Fudge, what are you doing here?" Harry asked shortly. While not as angry as Ron was to see the disgraced former Minister, he was shocked.

"Kingsley asked me to come in and discuss something with him. I'm sure you'll find out about it soon enough." Fudge said cryptically.

As if on cue, Kingsley opened his door.

"Harry. Ron. Inside please." he said shortly. Kingsley nodded to Fudge sharply, as if to dismiss him.

Instantly, Harry and Ron stepped inside. They noticed that Kingsley was acting very stressed.

"Sit." he said, motioning to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Harry and Ron quickly sat in the two chairs as Kingsley took his desk chair. Kingsley read some files and then looked up with a smile.

"Don't looked so freaked out. It's good news, guys." Kingsley said with a chuckle.

"Thank god." Ron said in relief.

"The two of you scored some of the best scores in the history of the Auror program. Harry, your practical exam score was the highest in Auror history. You guys are in."

Finally, the weight of the world seemed to leave Harry. He did it. He was an Auror.

"Now, for your first mission."

Suddenly, that weight was back.

"What?" Ron said suddenly.

"I know that normally a Junior Auror wouldn't have been given a mission so quickly but, for the two of you, I'm making an exception."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked in return.

"Last week, a family in Bulgaria was killed." Kingsley said shortly.

"What does that have to do with us?" Harry asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Their house was covered with the Dark Mark."

Instantly, silence filled the room.

"We believe that Antonin Dolohov has met up with a group of Death Eaters that escaped the Battle of Hogwarts last year. This is the second family to be attacked in the last month. We think that these families all had relatives or friends that were Muggles. So, I thought that I would give you the chance to get this one before anyone else."

"What do you want us to do?" Harry asked urgently.

"The Bulgarian Ministry has asked that we send two Aurors who have history catching Death Eaters. I want that to be you."

Harry quickly began thinking about what this meant.

"I'll do it." Harry replied quickly.

"I will too." Ron replied, although he didn't appear to be as excited about this as Harry.

"Good. I'll connect my fireplace to the Bulgarian Ministry and you guys can get started right away. Just so you know, you guys won't be able to come back until you catch them. No vacation, no breaks. The Bulgarians impressed that upon me and so I'll do that with you. Also, no visitors."

Suddenly, Harry's heart dropped. This could mean a few months without seeing Ginny or Hermione or any of his friends. However, Harry knew what they needed to do. He looked at Ron and saw that he understood the same thing.

"We understand." Harry said confidently.

* * *

**07.20.2006**

Harry didn't seen England (or Ginny) for three years. When he did get home, Ginny had pretty much given up on him. While Ron had it better with Hermione, both of them had to work very hard to get back into the good graces of their favorite girls.

"Ginny, that was different. I promise you that when we're done this time, I'm done. I'll go back to being the boring Head of the Auror Office." Harry said in all honesty.

"I hope so, Harry. I don't want to have to give up on you for a third time." Ginny said with a smile.

Harry was about to pull Ginny in for a close embrace when he heard his name being called across the grounds.

"HARRY!"

Harry turned to see Katarine sprinting across the grounds.

"Katarine, what's wrong?"

Katarine finally stopped sprinting once she reached Harry and took a couple moments to catch her breath. Finally, when she could speak again, she did in terror.

"Harry, the German Ministry in Berlin has discovered that Lord Voldemort has recruited the Turkish Ministry into joining him. They are surrounding Berlin and planning on taking the city, our scouts say. However, they said that they have gotten a lot smarter since their last attempt to take a Ministry. Our scouts believe that they are planning on sending members of the Turkish Ministry here while they attack Berlin."

Harry wasn't shocked by this news. Voldemort and Merlin had to know that while they may control England, the rest of Europe was still operated by supporters of Harry. Harry suspected that Voldemort wasn't trying to take the castle. He just wanted to distract them enough to take the German Ministry. Harry thought it was a good idea, if he was honest with himself. He knew that they had to devote some people to stay and defend Hogwarts because if they didn't, Hogwarts would be lost and that would be the worst case scenario for this.

"Katarine, tell Xavier that I'm taking Albus and going to Berlin." Harry said strongly.

"I'm going with you." Ginny said just as strongly next to him. The look in her eyes told Harry that he didn't have a choice.

"I'm getting my men and we're going with you." Katarine replied. "If Voldemort is trying to take our homeland, then we must return to defend it."

"I understand, Katarine."

Instantly, Harry drew his wand.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

From Harry's wand exploded his new Patronus, a huge stag that galloped around for a couple moments before stopping in front of Harry.

"Leaving for Germany. Voldemort's troops are there. Turkish Ministry has sided with Voldemort. Turks coming to Hogwarts. Stay and defend."

Once it received its message, it took off for the castle. Once it was gone, Harry turned to Katarine.

"Gather your men and all the broomsticks you can find. We're going to Berlin."


	11. Find A Way

**07.21.2006**

Xavier was ready to get this over with. Ever since he had gotten word from Harry that members of the Turkish Ministry had sided with Voldemort and were on their way to Hogwarts, Xavier had been ready to go. Xavier stood in the corner of his office, starting absentmindedly out the window, when Hermione came in.

"The whole school is on high alert. I have members of the Eastern European with Viktor in the towers as snipers. Pierre and the French are taking up on the stairs outside the Great Hall. All of the NOA will start in the Entrance Hall. I've moved a bunch of desks and stuff down there to act as cover. Nothing is getting in here."

Finally, Xavier was able to shake himself away from his stupor and return to the world.

"What?" he replied, realizing he hadn't really heard a word that Hermione had said.

Hermione gave Xavier a small smirk before crossing the room and giving Xavier a quick hug.

"We're all set." Hermione said shortly.

"Great. The Turks have a pretty poor track record as a military force but with enough of them, they could end up being a pain in the ass."

"Yeah. Do you think Voldemort will send any of his men with them?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure he will but I doubt it will be anybody too frightening." Xavier replied matter-of-factly.

Suddenly, a knock came on his door. Rarely did anyone other Hermione come up here and when they did, knocking was typically not something they did. Judging by this, Xavier knew that this was someone who didn't visit his office very often.

"Come in."

Moments later, Arthur Weasley stepped into the Headmaster's Office.

"Wow. It certainly has been a long time since I've been up here." Arthur exclaimed, noticing the changes that had taken place since Dumbledore had left the office.

"When was the last time you were here?" Xavier asked, silently acknowledging that this was obviously not why he came up.

"During Gin's second year, after she was taken to the Chamber..." Arthur replied, sounding almost frightened to mention it.

"Then I would say that much has changed. Now, Arthur, what brings you here?"

Suddenly, Arthur seemed to remember why he had come up.

"Oh, right. Viktor said that he can see people wandering just outside the school grounds. He sent scouts out on brooms to take a look at them. They should be back within a couple minutes."

Xavier instantly moved from his spot by the window towards the door.

"Well then let's go to them." Xavier replied.

Only five minutes later, Xavier, Hermione, and a very exhausted Arthur Weasley reached the top of the Astronomy Tower just in time to see the scouts land.

"What's the word?" Xavier asked Viktor.

"It seems that they are Turks, as they said. Vat should ve do?" Viktor replied.

Xavier quickly turned to Hermione.

"Go to Pierre. Tell him to move his men from the stairs to the grounds, just outside the Entrance. I'll move part of the NOA to join them."

Suddenly, a Bulgarian man spoke very excitedly to Viktor. After a couple moments of listening, he turned to Xavier, a look of fear in his eyes.

"Blazhe says he saw someone with them." he said softly.

"Who?"

"A tall bald man with a billowing black cloak."

Instantly, Xavier and Hermoine realized who he was talking about.

"Oh dear god. _Voldemort._"

Suddenly, Blazhe spoke again to Viktor. Seconds later, he turned to Xavier and Hermione. This time, his face was a look of panic.

"And another man, shorter, bearded with pure white hair."

Again, Xavier and Hermione needed no further explanation.

"Dammit. Merlin too!" Hermione said, surprising Xavier with her language.

"Vat do ve do now?" Viktor asked Xavier.

* * *

After a six hour broom ride and then Apparating across half of Europe to get to Berlin, Harry was exhausted. However, he knew that he didn't have time to be so tired. Voldemort and Merlin were surely bearing down on the German Ministry and Harry couldn't waste any time in getting there.

"Katarine, lead the way." Harry said forcefully.

With a quick nod, she was off. The group of roughly 100 people sprinted through the streets of Berlin hoping to get to the Ministry in time. After nearly ten minutes of weaving through Muggle traffic and countless back alleys, Katarine stopped at a bus stop.

"This is it."

Harry looked around and saw nothing.

"What do you mean?"

Katarine smiled smugly before she replied.

"No one actually knows where our Ministry building is located. The only way to get there is through a bus. The bus has no windows and the only place you can get out is at the Ministry or here."

Harry was shocked. He had never thought to consider that they would be going to a completely unknown destination.

"Alright. How long do we wait?"

This time, Katarine's smile was much more mischeivious.

"We don't." she replied as she stuck out her wand. Suddenly, just like the Knight Bus, a large black double level bus literally appeared in front of them.

"Get on." she said simply.

Within moments, everyone in Harry's group had gotten on board. Once the last person took their seat, the bus lurched forward. It took Harry a couple minutes to realize that there was no driver. The bus was obviously magically operated, maybe even from the Ministry itself. Harry decided to stop worrying about the bus and worry more about what they would face inside the Ministry.

"Katarine, what do you think we'll see when we get there?" Harry asked her urgently.

"Well, I do believe that since we haven't heard anything from them recently, that the assault on the Ministry has begun. I imagine that our Minister has taken charge inside the Entrance Hall like we did in Paris. However, our entrance hall is much more difficult to defend."

"Why do you say that?" Albus asked curiously. Harry had been wondering the same thing but he was glad the old man asked first. He didn't want to seem too worried.

"Our entrance hall is a dome with numerous doors leading to other areas of the complex. It's also where the bus comes in. If the Death Eaters get into any other part of the building, they can work their way around and attack our forces from behind."

"Well, then I guess we'll have to keep that from happening." Ginny inserted.

Just as Ginny finished speaking, the bus came to a screeching halt.

"I guess we're here." Harry said with a smile. However, his humor was short-lived because just as the words left his mouth, something crashed into the side of the bus, flipping it onto its side. The bus slowly careened over until it smashed onto its side, throwing everyone from their seat. Now, the bus was a veritable dark dungeon with no way out since it had fallen on its door and there were no windows.

"Everyone take cover!" Harry screamed as he withdrew his wand and aimed it towards where the front windshield would have been.

_"Confringo!"_

Instantly, the blasting curse blew a huge hole in the front of the bus, letting light flood back in. Again, Harry turned to his followers.

"Everyone out!"

With a moment, nearly one hundred people came rushing out the front of the bus, utilizing the hole that Harry had just created. Harry waited until the last person left before he left. When he did, he saw one of the more horrible things he could have possibly imagined.

Nearly four hundred wizards stood in a circle around the bus, each of them with their wands facing them. Some of them wore the black robes synonymous with Death Eaters. However, it were the other wizards that were more disconcerting. They wore the same gold robes of the German army. Harry realized instantly that he had been tricked. He turned to look at Katarine, who had a horrified look on her face.

"Harry. I'm so sorry." she whispered to him.

"Did you know?" Harry asked her in anger.

"Yes. Last week, Lord Voldemort and Merlin came in during the night. They had figured out to get in and had men stationed everywhere. When they came in the next day for work, Lord Voldemort declared himself Minister of Magic in Germany. However, he said that if we brought you to him, he would let us keep our government, although it would still have to report to him."

"And you agreed to this?" Ginny asked seethingly.

"We didn't have a choice. He's already taken control of Turkey, Greece, East Russia, Serbia, Poland, and all of North Africa. He's been able to keep it very quiet but this is supposed to be the coming out for his new empire." she replied as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"His empire?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"He calls it The Slytherin Empire. Within the next three months, all of those countries have plans to take control of the Muggle cities in the area and liquidate them for their assets."

"Liquidate them?" Harry asked again.

"Either killed or turned into slave labor. Either way, he plans to get rid of them all."

Harry couldn't believe that he had been so blind. He hadn't bothered to do a single bit of scouting on the area. Like in Paris, he had simply trusted Katarine to do what was right.

"You should have returned and fought him yourself." Harry said simply.

"He had already taken over. There was no fight to be had."

Harry chucked softly.

"There's always a fight to be had."

Suddenly, Harry drew his wand and, using a play out of Xavier's playbook, launched a blue wave of energy in a circular wave. Instantly, men and women were thrown to the floor or into walls. Harry didn't want to think about the injuries he had just caused to those around him. He turned to see that Katarine had been thrown some forty feet away onto the floor.

"Harry, don't do this! Don't condemn us to this!" she begged.

"You did it to yourself, Katarine. Stay here and fight. You are no longer welcome in my country." Harry said harshly.

"Harry, we can't fight him. He'll take over and he'll kill us all."

Harry turned and was about ready to walk away before she spoke again.

"Harry, we're friends. Help us, like we helped you." she said through her tears.

Suddenly, Harry turned around, rage burning in his eyes.

"Help you? HELP YOU? You led the three of us here to be handed over to Lord Voldemort and you think we're going to help you? Yes, you helped us and for that, I am grateful. However, what you have done today is beyond help. For as long as I am in a position of authority in Britain, I will advise anyone who asks me against assisting the German Ministry."

With that, Harry turned to Albus and Ginny.

"It's only a matter of time before people start to wake up around here. We need a way out."

"Harry, we don't even know where we're at. We have no clue if the bus can still be used to take us back or if there's any way to blow ourselves out of here."

Harry looked sullenly at the floor before he responded.

"I know. But we'll find a way.

* * *

Xavier had called the remaining members of the Upper Council to his office for an emergency meeting.

"Voldemort and Merlin are with the Turkish troops outside. We need a plan." Xavier said in a hurry.

"Well, if you ask me, I say we march right out there and fight them." Draco said passionately.

"And give up any advantage we do have? Draco, you've got to be kidding me." Bill Weasley replied in disbelief.

"Draco, your heart is in the right place but we simply can't afford for the whole castle to leave. It's our only real advantage. They appear to outnumber and if Voldemort or Merlin step into the battle, they'll definitely be more powerful."

Finally, someone who rarely spoke at these meetings stepped forward.

"I think we should send a party out to meet with them." Luna Lovegood said, speaking during a meeting for the first time since her inclusion after Ron's death. "That way, we may be able to avoid conflict and get them to leave."

"Are you mental, Lovegood? Whoever you sent out there wouldn't come back." Draco replied harshly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Draco. They know that they don't have the advantage here. They may have more wizards and more firepower, but they don't know this castle like we do. If they come in here, they'd be walking into a firefight that they can't win. They have to have something else planned."

Suddenly, a chill was sent down everyone's spine as a dark voice spoke to them all.

_**"We do, Xavier Mitchell, we do."**_

Everyone in the room shuddered as they heard the voice of Lord Voldemort ring into their heads.

_"What do you want?" _Xavier thought back to the Dark Lord.

_**"Patience, Headmaster. I will get there in due time. Now, you must know that if you refuse any of my demands, I will personally enter the castle and kill each and every one of you."**_

_"I know. Now, what do you want?" _Xavier asked again, this time more impatiently.

**_"What I want is of no use to you. WHO I want however, is a much better question." _**Voldemort mused mockingly.

_"You'll get none of us. That's out of the question."_

**_"I figured as much. No, Xavier Mitchell, the one I want is not one of yours, but one of MINE."_**

Instantly, Xavier knew who he was talking about as his eyes locked on Severus Snape seated in the back of the room. Snape, who had obviously been able to hear the entire conversation, nodded accordingly. Xavier had been worried that this was his plan. However, he knew that if he wanted to protect the castle, it would be the only way.

_"What do we get in return?" _Xavier replied.

_**"I won't tear the building down and kill you all. Also, I may grant Potter a quick death when I get to Berlin."**_

Xavier thought for a moment before he replied. However, in the end, he knew he had only one option.

_"Send your men away. All of them. The second they are gone, we will give you Snape."_

**_"As you wish, Headmaster. I only hope that you do not plan to double-cross me."_**

With that, Xavier and the rest of the Upper Council could feel Lord Voldemort's presence leave them.

"Damn." Charlie said softly to himself.

In a blur, Xavier stood from his chair and made his way to the door.

"Everyone stay here. Hermione, you're coming with Severus and I. Bill, go back to the tower and watch for his men to leave. When they do, send me a message and I'll send out Snape."

Seconds later, Xavier, Hermione, and Severus were heading down the stairs at a near-sprint. When they finally managed to reach the front entrance, they were all out of breath. After that, they waited. They waited for what seemed like an eternity for word to come.

"Do you think he'll really send them away?" Hermione asked.

"If he wants to get Severus, he knows he'll have to." Xavier replied curtly.

Finally, several minutes later, a dove came flying down the stairs. After a couple quick laps around the room, it landed in front of them and spoke in a thick French accent.

_"Ze have gone. Only Voldemor' remains."_

Just as its message finished, Fleur's Patronus faded into nothingness.

"Let's go." Xavier said shortly. "But first..."

Suddenly, Xavier turned to Severus and drew his wand.

_"Obliviate!"_

Instantly, Snape's eyes went in and out of focus. Finally, when they settled back into place, Xavier spoke up again.

"Severus, how do you get to Gryffindor Tower?"

Snape seemed to struggle with the thought of trying to locate the tower on his own. Finally, he responded.

"I don't know." he said, seemingly lost in his own mind.

"Where are the secret entrances to the school?" Xavier asked again.

"I haven't the slightest clue." Severus answered honestly, understanding what Xavier had done.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked with concern in her voice.

"I erased his memory of the school. Or the layout of the school, I should say. Don't worry, Hermione." he said, noticing the horrified look on her face. "I can reverse it when he comes back to us. Now, let's go before Lord Voldemort decides to burn the school down."

"What happens if he decides to attack?" Hermione asked, obviously worried.

"I'm not sure, Hermione."

"Xavier, you do realize that we're giving one of our best wizards back to Voldemort with no plan in place to get him back." Hermione said, this time more frustrated than anything.

Xavier opened the front gate using his wand. Looking out he saw Lord Voldemort standing in the middle of the grounds, awaiting their arrival.

"I know, Hermione. But we'll find a way."


	12. The Door to Nowhere

**07.21.2006**

The march out to Voldemort was agonizing. Xavier was going over hundreds of contingency plans in his head as they approached him. Severus seemed particularly nervous. Xavier wondered Severus knew more about this than he was letting on. Although, Xavier admitted to himself, he shouldn't have been surprised if he did.

Finally, about ten minutes later and nearly on the other side of the grounds, they reached him. He stood alone, waiting for them to approach him. Xavier knew that he could probably sense the fear in them.

"Good, Headmaster. You have brought me my man." Voldemort said, his high pitched voice permeating through Xavier's skin.

Suddenly, Hermione stepped forward with her wand in hand.

_"Homenum Revelio." _she said simply. They waited patiently and nothing happened. Hermione turned to Xavier and nodded, indicating that everyone other than Lord Voldemort was gone.

Voldemort chuckled before he spoke again.

"You thought that I would back out of our deal?" he asked in mock indignation. "How low do you think I am?"

Xavier felt his skin crawl as Voldemort spoke. Only a few times had Xavier been this close and this was definitely the first time that he was the sole target of his attention.

"Take your man and leave." Xavier said, faking a courage that he knew he did not feel.

Voldemort knew it as well.

"You think that by faking strength, you can impress me? You think that if you can trick me into thinking that you are not afraid of me, that I will leave? I AM LORD VOLDEMORT! No one impresses me! No one forces me to leave! I leave when I choose to leave and I go where I choose to go! And soon, not even Muggles will be able to stop that."

Hermione gasped, as if she instantly understood the meaning of his words. Xavier, as much as he suspected, couldn't believe what he had said.

"What do you mean that Muggles won't be able to stop you?" Xavier asked, his fear for himself gone. Now only fear for the world remained.

"As we speak, ten different Ministries have been overturned in Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. They are being replaced with men and women who are loyal to the cause of worldwide blood purity. Within the next few months, we will take down the Muggles and Mudbloods and make them our slaves. Within a year, I will control all of Europe, Asia, and Africa. In three, the whole world. In five years, every Muggle or Mudblood will be dead and wizards will have reclaimed the world!"

Xavier could feel his heart stop. The horror of the plan that had come before him was enormous. While he knew that Voldemort was insane, he never even thought to consider what would happen if Voldemort actually won. He wouldn't let that happen. Xavier was about to turn and leave when Voldemort spoke up again.

"So, Granger, would you like to get it over with now? It would save the horror of having to live through the next five years." Voldemort asked causally, as of he were asking for the time of day.

Suddenly, Xavier snapped.

"What about you, Tom?" Xavier said, the name coming from nowhere.

Instantly, Voldemort reacted, drawing his wand.

"_What_ did you call me?" he said, baring his teeth as he spoke.

Xavier realized that he had found a confidence that he had never known before. Or maybe it was stupidity. Either way, it got Voldemort talking. Because he knew that the second a duel started, anyone inside the castle would be out in a heartbeat. At least he hoped they would.

"I called you Tom. You know, your Muggle name. In your book, half-blood is the same as no blood or even worse, _Mudblood._"

Voldemort looked as though, for the first time in Xavier's memory, he had nothing to say.

"Are you going to work in camps with the Muggles and the magic stealers? Are you going to kill yourself when you massacre the innocent? Because you should." Xavier said boldly.

Instantly, Voldemort replied.

"I am of no blood, Xavier Mitchell! I am of no blood because there is no one on this Earth, nor has there ever been anyone on this dreadful planet who could challenge me."

Finally, Xavier had had enough of Voldemort.

"I bet I can."

In a flash, Voldemort launched himself forward, accepting Xavier's challenge.

_"Avada Kedavra!" _both men screamed at the same time as they flung themselves towards each other. The two spells collided in mid-air and cause a great green explosion that knocked both men to the ground. As they picked themselves and their wands off the ground, they each stood and aimed their wands at each other, each wand barely an inch of its enemy.

Suddenly, Voldemort smiled.

"Just like Potter."

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked, not daring to move his wand even an inch.

"I mean it's a shame that you had to side with him. Just like it was a shame Potter sided with that old codger, Dumbledore. You both have talent, no doubt about it. But, you waste it by fighting a battle that you cannot win. Just like Potter does, so do you."

Suddenly, Xavier got a wonderful idea.

_"Protego!"_

Before Voldemort could even register what had happened, he was being flung back towards the gate. As he flew through the air, Xavier waved his wand again, opening the gates just before Voldemort flew through them. Xavier knew that he didn't possess the raw power to kill Voldemort there. However, he knew that he could get rid of him for the time being. Just as he had planned, he turned to the gates and with a final wave of his wand, the gates closed and began to glow a bright orange.

Xavier walked over to the gates and spoke through them to the evil wizard who was once again picking himself up off the ground.

"We'll see who's wasting their abilities, Tom. Now, get out of my school."

Then, Xavier simply turned around and joined Hermione in her walk back to the castle.

* * *

Harry could see people starting to stir around him. He knew that he had only moments to get out. More than likely, Voldemort was paying very close attention to what was going on here. In fact, Harry was a bit surprised that Voldemort hadn't shown up already. While he spent his time lost in thought, Ginny was examining the bus.

"Harry, there's no key, no place to put a key and the steering wheel doesn't turn. Even if we put it back on its wheels, I don't think it's going anywhere." she said sadly.

"How do you know so much about buses?" Harry asked.

"Harry, do you not remember who my father is?" Ginny replied briefly.

"Good point." Harry replied sheepishly.

Harry then instinctively turned to Katarine, who was laying on the ground near him. He then pointed his wand and aimed it directly between her eyes.

"You have approximately five seconds to tell me how to get out of here before I turn your face into mush."

"Harry-" Albus said softly behind him.

"QUIET!" he screamed over his shoulder towards Albus. Then, he turned and kneeled down next to Katarine, this time pressing his wand firmly against her forehead.

"Five."

Instantly, Katarine went rigid. Harry knew that he would get her to speak. However, he knew that it might take some extra convincing.

"Four."

This time, Katarine started wimpering. Harry couldn't make out any of the words she was surely saying.

"Three."

"NO!" Katarine screamed. "I won't help you!"

"That's too bad." Harry replied before aiming his wand at one of her fingers.

_"Diffindo!"_

Instantly, blood came rushing out of the huge cut that had appeared on her hand. She went to go pick up her hand and when she did, the finger that had barely been holding onto a few pieces of skin fell off. No one could hear anything over the screams of this woman as she clutched her bloody hand.

"TWO!" Harry screamed at her. "IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU, YOU WILL ANSWER MY DAMN QUESTION!"

"The gate! The gate! The gate! The gate! The gate!"

Instantly, Harry smiled. He waived his wand and the finger that had been severed magically attached itself to her finger. Slowly, Katarine stopped crying.

"What is the gate?" Harry asked calmly.

"It's our emergency escape. No one has ever used it. No one knows where it leads to." Katarine said through stifled sobs.

"Where is it?" Ginny asked strongly. Ginny appeared to have gotten over the shock of Harry's brutality and was now standing next to Harry, ready to assist him.

"On the bottom floor. We came in on the top floor and we shut the lifts down. There are more Death Eaters on the bottom floor, protecting the gate."

"Let's go." Harry said, hoisting her up. Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He ran over to three of the unconscious Germany soldiers, removing their outer robes. He magically altered them and then threw on to each Ginny and Albus.

"Put them on. Katarine, you are going to lead us down there. You are going to tell them that we are dead. If they attack us, you are on our side. Is that understood?" Harry said menacingly.

All Katarine did was nod softly.

"Lead on." was all Harry's orders were.

Quickly, Katarine began walking towards one of the far walls. She tapped her wand on the wall in an incredibly complex manner. Once she was done, the wall opened up into a set of stairs.

"These will take us all the way down to the bottom." she said softly.

"You're sure?" Ginny asked.

"Ms. Weasley, I've worked her for nearly a decade. No one knows this place better than I do."

"Good. I wouldn't want to have to kill you for getting us lost." Ginny said with a sick smile.

About fifteen minutes later, they finally descended to the bottom of the stairs.

"Alright, hoods on. Katarine, I have my wand on you the whole time. If I think you're going to give us up, I used the Imperius. Understood?"

Again, all she could do was nod. Then, she motioned for them to follow her into the Gate Room. There were nearly fifteen men standing in front of what appeared to be a normal door. However, Harry knew that in the magical world, looks were often deceiving.

"Potter and his associates are dead. You can go back upstairs now. I will say that the bastard did do quite a bit of damage." Katarine said with a convincingly evil chuckle.

"We were given orders. We don't leave the Gate until the Dark Lord returns from Hogwarts." the man in the front of the gate said.

"Well, I assure you, that since Potter is dead, I am now once again in control of this institution as promised to me."

_"She lies."_

Instantly, everyone felt the chill run down their spine.

"My Lord?" the leader of the Death Eaters said aloud.

_"Potter remains among the living. Kill her."_

Harry knew that he had to move. He just hoped he would be quick enough. He threw his robe off and drew his wand. With a lightning-like speed, he leveled his wand.

_"Expulso!"_

The curse hit the front man square in the chest and caused his remains to be blown back towards his associates.

_"Stupefy! __Stupefy! __Stupefy!____Stupefy!____Stupefy!____Stupefy!" _Harry said as he continued to launch attacks at his blinded enemies. Harry looked over to see what was a collection of golden orbs of winged mucus flying around the room and attacked the remaining adversaries. Within moments, Albus had stunned them and the threat was no more.

Harry turned to Katarine, who laid on the floor, sobbing into her arms.

"Katarine, when we defeat Lord Voldemort, you will be brought to the Wizengamot on charges of criminal conspiracy and attempted murder. That is, unless you leave your army here and return to Hogwarts with us."

Katarine instantly looked up, her eyes red with tears.

"Why would you want me back?"

Harry kneeled down to look her in the eyes.

"You did what you could to defend your homeland. While that meant selling me out, I understand that was not the underlying reason for why you did what you did. So, I am granting you this one time offer. We got here and you found out that your second-in-command had taken control of what was left of the army here and sided with Voldemort. I don't care what story you tell in Germany, but that's the story I will tell at Hogwarts."

"Why?"

"Because, if I turn my back on every person that has ever abandoned me or doubted me, I would be looking at a very short list of people." Harry replied honestly. "So come with us now and I will forget that this ever happened."

In a matter of seconds, Katarine was on her feet ready to go.

"How does it work?" Ginny asked Katarine from behind Harry.

"Simply open the door and walk in."

Suddenly, Harry turned around and opened the door. On the other side was nothing but blackness.

"Only one way to find out." Harry said, mostly to himself. All of the sudden, Ginny grabbed all four of them and burst through the door.


	13. World's End: Part I

**07.21.2006**

**7:14 AM**

"You've got to be kidding me."

Ginny's voice was the first thing Harry heard after they landed wherever they were. Harry opened his eyes and at first, he thought they were broken. He also had an incredible sense of deja vu. All he could see is whiteness. Harry instantly stood up and went to action.

_"Point me!"_

Harry's wand jumped out his hand and began to float in front of him. Seconds later, it began to spin to face north. However, to Harry's horror, it never stopped spinning.

"Great."

"What?" Katarine, Ginny, and Albus said in unison.

"We're at the South Pole." Harry replied simply.

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked him.

"This spell should point North. As you can see, every direction is North. That means we're at the South Pole."

Suddenly, Katarine dropped to the ground.

"Katarine!" Harry yelled as he fell to the ground to catch her.

"They did it. They did it. They did it." she kept repeating this over and over again.

"They did what? Katarine, THEY DID WHAT?" Harry screamed, snapping her out of her trance.

"Before the creation of the German Magical Forces and my appointment to command it, I worked as a special geographer for our Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Katarine informed them.

"So what?" Ginny asked her.

"My last project was to do a geographical analysis of Antarctica." she replied deadly.

"Why? No one lives here." Harry asked in confusion.

"Exactly."

"Are you saying what I believe that you are saying, Ms. Kruger?" Albus said softly from a distance. He always seemed to know something that no one else did. This was probably because before his resurrection, he was the most sought after political adviser in the world.

"Our plan was to build a prison on the South Pole. It would be a death camp, basically. We would send people down her with a couple months provisions. Then, every two months we would send supplies. No one would ever come into contact with these people ever again."

"Well, it seems that you guys at least got the transportation part down." Harry replied in jest.

"Yes. I always feared that this is where the Gate led. We hadn't been approved to start building the prison yet so I didn't know that they had already built the means to transport people down here."

"So, what are the stats?" Harry asked her.

"Well, normally the plan would have been to send people down here without wands. So, Apparating wasn't a problem. However, we did decide that we needed to take some precaustions."

"What? Like what?" Ginny asked.

"A sixty kilometer Anti-Apparation ward." Katarine replied matter of factly.

"Great. Just great. I thought you hadn't been approved to build the prison yet?"

"We weren't. But transportation or wards of that kind require no approval from the Ministry."

"Awesome. How long will it take us to get outside the ward?" Harry asked her.

"Well, in my report, I said around 11 hours." Katarine replied softly.

"11 hours?"

"Without stopping. Also, I'm sure that the cold will slow us down some as well." she replied, simply spitting out the facts.

"How can you be so calm?" Ginny asked her.

"There's no use panicking. We are where we are and there's nothing we can do about it now." Katarine replied, a far cry from her behavior several minutes.

For a few moments, no one said anything. Finally, Harry decided to act.

"Alright, does anyone have a watch?"

"I do." Albus said, pulling his pocket watch out of his robes.

"Alright Albus, keep time. We stop in three hours for five minutes. We repeat that until we can get out of here."

Everyone nodded grimly.

"We're going to need to keep strong for each other. This is going to be rough. We're going to be very cold and very tired. No one gets left behind. Do you all understand?"

Again, everyone nodded in understanding.

"Great. Let's move."

* * *

**9:24 AM**

Two hours later, Harry could hardly move.

"Man, it's cold." Ginny said softly.

Harry had been afraid of this. They hadn't been prepared for this kind of weather or temperature is probably the better word. It had been nearly 90 degree Fahrenheit in London and even hotter in Berlin. Harry had worn the lightest cloak he owned and he saw that the other three had done the same. Harry didn't know much about the climate of this area but he knew that it had to be well below zero degrees outside.

Suddenly, Harry was drawn out of his thought and back into the moment when something ran into him knocking him to the ground. As he picked himself up, he turned to see Katarine, face down in the ice. He sank back down next to her, feeling for any sign of life.

"Katarine! Come on!" Harry yelled, trying to pull her back to consciousness.

Harry felt around but his own cold hands could hardly operate. Suddenly, Harry had an inspiration. He drew his wand and grabbed the nearest chuck of ice he could find. With a quick wave of his wand, he had turned in into a simple mason jar. Harry had to admit that he was still amazed at his own magical ability every time he did something like that.

Once he had the jar, he waved his wand again and a collection of blue flames burst to life from within the jar. He took the jar and put it inside her cloak. Instantly, Harry could feel the warmth coming back to her. However, that didn't mean she had her strength back.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. It seemed like each blink of her eyes took everything out of her.

"Sorry...so..rry...s.s..."

"Katarine," Harry said, looking her directly in the eyes. "You are going to be ok."

However, Harry knew that she wasn't going to be able to support herself for long. So, Harry made a decision.

"Katarine, I want you to hold onto this jar. Can you do that for me?"

With a great effort, she nodded.

"Great."

Then, Harry grabbed her hands and slowly stood her up. Once she was up, Harry turned his back to her and let her fall over onto his back. Once she was there, he grabbed her legs and pulled them up to wrap around his waist.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ginny asked in concern.

"Gin, if I don't help her, she's not going to make it. Now, I want you to make jars for you and for Albus." Harry replied softly as he noticed Katarine going to sleep on him.

"Katarine, you need to stay awake, ok?" Harry said softly.

All she did was nod.

"We need to move. Fast." Harry said as he turned to Ginny and Albus. "Is there anything we can think of that will let us move quicker?"

"I know of no charm that would let anyone run or move faster. If we had brooms, we could obviously go faster." Albus said quickly.

"What about brooms?" Ginny added. "Harry, how long did it take your broom to get from the castle to the lake?"

"I'm not sure. I was under a lot of pressure. One or two minutes? Maybe three?" Harry replied with uncertainty.

"OK. How far is it from the lake to the castle?" she prodded further.

"Half a kilometer or so." Albus said confidently.

"So, it would take about five minutes for a conjured broom to travel a kilometer, yes? How far from home are we?"

Harry hopped in order to wake Katarine.

"How far are we from London?" he asked.

"Whuh?" Katarine sputtered back.

"London. How far from it are we?"

"32,000 kilometers." she said before promptly passing out again.

"Wow." the other three said simultaneously.

"So, 32,000 times five minutes, what is that?"

"160,000." Albus replied after doing the math in his head.

"Ok. So that's in minutes, how many hours?"

Harry was beginning to get frustrated. Not only did he hate math, he was pretty sure that this was going to end up being pointless. He had no idea how right he was.

"Around 2,600 hours or about 100 days."

"Well that was a waste of time." Harry replied in frustration.

"Harry, come on. We're running out of ideas."

"No. We're running out of time. I asked for ideas, not wishes. We're on the other end of the planet! I could have told you that it was going to take a ridiculously long time for a broom to get here from home. Also, did you even stop to consider whether it was even possible? Sure, maybe we get them here but it takes so much out of us that we can't even ride them back home."

"Harry, I do believe that we were simply contemplating at the idea." Albus replied softly.

"That's wonderful, Dumbledore. Please keep thinking but until we find something that's actually going to work let's move."

"Fine." Ginny said shortly. Harry could tell that she wasn't particularly happy with him. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to worry about that. Katarine was fading quickly and they had only gone about eight of the sixty kilometers they needed to go and they were sure to keep slowing down.

The three walking members started walking again. After about another fifteen minutes, Harry decided that more decisive movement was needed. So, he turned to Dumbledore.

"How much faster can you go?"

"I am an old man, Harry, in an angry environment." he said simply.

"That's what I thought." Harry said as he pulled a potion from his robes. "I carry this with me all the time. It's a Super Pepper-Up Potion. It will last for 12 hours. So, for 12 hours, you'll feel half your age. How fast will you be able to go then?"

"Much faster." he replied shortly.

"Good. Take this." he said as he gave the old man the vial, which he quickly downed. Moments later, Harry could already see the difference. His eyes looked brighter and he seemed to be more limber.

"One more thing." Harry said as he set Katarine down. Then, he pointed his wand at her and silently cast a Hover Charm on her. "Awesome. Now as long as I hold on to my wand, she'll come with us."

Finally, Harry turned to Albus and Ginny.

"We need to move fast. I'm not sure how long she can hold on and I know that we're all going to start fading fast. So, we're going to move and fast. Any questions or problems?"

Neither of them moved a muscle.

"Good." Harry replied finally as he turned and broke into a brisk jog.

* * *

**10:59 AM**

"Why haven't we heard anything from them yet?" Arthur asked Xavier.

To be honest, he didn't have a clue. He knew they couldn't be dead. Voldemort would have made sure that the whole world knew that the one man who they believed could kill him had been killed himself.

He wouldn't have taken them prisoner either. Again, they would have known.

When Harry, Ginny, and Albus hadn't returned, Arthur and the rest of the Weasleys came up to Xavier's office to find out as much as they could. Unfortunately for them, he had nothing.

"I imagine that they are just fine. I would not be surprised if they are simply at an area where they cannot communicate with us. Knowing Harry they're probably trying to infiltrate Voldemort's ear canal." Xavier said with a chuckle.

"That's not funny." Molly replied, although the smile on her face said that she got some enjoyment out of it.

"Molly. Arthur. When I know something about where they are, I'll make sure I let you know. Until then, there's nothing we can do." Xavier replied calmly.

Finally, Arthur and Molly seemed to realize that he was right. They both nodded slowly to them as they stood up and made their way out of the office. Once he was sure they were gone, he spoke up.

"You can come out now." Xavier said knowingly.

"How did you know?" Percy said stepping back through the door his parents had just left. He stepped towards his desk and sat in the chair that his father had been seated in.

"Auror Training, Percy. They teach you to be able to hear things the average wizard may not hear, like as in two people come into my office and then other stops in the entrance two minutes later."

"I'm impressed." Percy replied shortly. Xavier noticed that he seemed to be incredibly distracted.

"You have a few things on your mind." Xavier observed aloud.

"Yes." was all he replied with.

"Care to share?" Xavier asked with a smile.

"I have a couple things actually." Percy replied, still staring off into space.

"And they are?" Xavier replied leadingly.

"Where are they actually?" he asked, finally looking him in the eye.

"I'll tell you the same thing that I told your parents. I honestly have no clue." Xavier replied honestly.

"Xavier, you don't have to lie to me."

"I'm not. Harry sent me his Patronus just before they left last night and that's the last I've heard from any of them. If I knew anything I would tell you." Xavier said, hoping he was conveying the sincerity that he felt.

"OK." Percy said before he straightened up to speak again. "Now, about Hermione."

Whatever Xavier thought Percy needed to talk about, she was definitely not on that list.

"What about her?" Xavier asked, not hiding his defensiveness.

"I know that the two of you are together now. And while it normally wouldn't be my place to say something-"  
"It hasn't stopped you before." Xavier interjected.

"Damn it, Xavier! My family has already watched two of my younger brothers die fighting Voldemort. They don't need some half-baked Headmaster shatting all over Ron's memory by dating his fiance only a few weeks after his death."

As Percy continued to talk, Xavier could feel his blood begin to boil.

"My mother and father are blind. I think they would know that the two of you were together if they would open their eyes to it. Now, this is what you're going to do. You're going to end things with her until this war is over! After that, I don't give a damn what you do. But you're going to destroy my family if they see you parading around the castle like a couple of lovesick puppies!"

Finally, Xavier snapped. He drew his wand and ,in one complete motion, he locked the door and knocked Percy against the back wall. Xavier couldn't remember being so angry. Not since Azkaban anyway. Again with his wand, he threw Percy against the wall and held him there.

"What's this really about, Percy? You turned on your family as quickly as you could during the first war. From what I've heard, you were willing to put your family in Azkaban to pursue a political career. Is that true?"

Percy seemed to have trouble responding. Xavier let up on him and dropped him to the ground so he could responded. Coughing, he spoke again.

"I was mistaken."

"You were blind, Percy. You saw what you wanted and saw that doing the right thing would prevent you from getting ahead in the world. So what's this really about? It can't be about how much you miss your brother because you were willing to put him away for life when Voldemort was around the first time."

"It is."

"What is?" Xavier asked harshly.

"It is about Ron. Everything is about Ron...and Fred. Everyday after the Battle of Hogwarts, I've spent trying to make up to my family. I wronged them for three years before I finally came around. I missed three years of life with my family. Then, Fred was taken from me. In that moment, I remembered everything that I loved about my family and everything that I had missed. Then and there, I decided that I would never put anything over my family ever again."

The tears in Percy's eyes told Xavier that he was dealing with a man who had realized what he had lost. Xavier wasn't about to continue to attack him.

Xavier slowly kneeled in front of him.

"I didn't know Ron as well as many people around here but I miss him too. But, I don't think anyone misses him as much as Hermione does. She still loves him and she always will. I know that I may have to accept that I'll always be second best to her. But for her, I would accept just being allowed in the room. I wouldn't do anything to harm your family but I love her and nothing is going to stop that."

Xavier could see in Percy's eyes that they had come to an understanding. Xavier extended a hand and pulled Percy to his feet.

"Xavier, all those things that I've said about you..." Percy started.

"Forget it."

Percy then extended his hand and Xavier gladly shook it.

"We'll find them, Perce." Xavier said with a smile.

"I certainly hope so. I wouldn't want to have to kill you for losing Harry and my sister."


	14. World's End: Part II

**07.21.2006**

**9:46 PM**

After nearly twelve hours of alternating between walking and running, Harry couldn't go any farther. He set Katarine down on his cloak and sat down next to her. He was worried about her. She couldn't stay awake for much longer than a couple minutes and her skin was like ice.

"Do you think we've gone far enough?" Ginny asked, clutching her fire jar. Harry had to remember to thank Hermione for coming up with these if he got home. _If. _Harry realized that things must be getting pretty desperate if he was thinking in "ifs" and not "when."

"I'm not sure. Does anyone have the energy to Apparate?" Harry asked in reply.

Ginny slowing shook her head as she came to the same realization that Harry had come to. They had probably walked far enough but they didn't have any energy left to Apparate. Suddenly, Albus stood up from his seat and began drawing in the ice.

"What is it?" Harry asked him.

"It may be possible for us to get out of here. But, it is going to be risky."

"What's the plan?" Ginny asked, happy for something.

"If the four of us link together and Apparate out simultaneously, we should be able to travel greater distances. However, since we don't really know which way we are headed, we could end up in the water. In that case, we would have to try and regroup and Apparate out of the water."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other glumly. They knew they didn't have any other choice.

"How is this going to work?" Harry asked him.

"We're each going to have to take turns being the base for the others to Apparate. I would imagine that taking three people will be rather tiresome in our current state so we are going to have to be as careful as possible not to try and go too quickly."

"OK then. Who wants to go first?"

"I will." Ginny replied, not looking as confident as her voice sounded.

Deciding to act as quickly as possible, Harry leaned down and pointed his wand at Katarine.

_"Rennervate."_

Slowly, Katarine began to wake up.

"Am I dead?" she asked upon completely regaining consciousness.

"No." Harry replied, trying to repress the small smile that was forming. "We need to start Apparating out of here. You need to be awake so we can use your energy too."

"Great." she replied simply as she tried to stand up. Finally, with a great deal of help from Harry, she was able to stand up.

As soon as she was stable, Ginny stepped into the middle of the circle. Each of the other three placed an arm on her and held on as tightly as they could.

"Just imagine the Antarctic shore. Lots of ice, lots of water." Albus said softly.

Then, suddenly, before Harry even knew what was going on, they were gone.

* * *

Moments later, Harry opened his eyes. He looked out over the ice and finally saw what they were looking for, water. They had made it to the coast.

"Gin! You did it!" Harry said as he turned and hugged her in relief.

"You did, Ms. Weasley. Unfortunately, that is only one of many jumps we are going to need to make." Albus added, putting everyone back in a terrible mood.

Suddenly, Harry thought of something. Something that made him hate himself for not coming up with it before.

"A Portkey." Harry said softly to himself.

"Excuse me?" Albus said, leaning towards Harry.

"Why can't we use a Portkey?" Harry asked loudly. "If given the proper power, there's almost no limit as to where a Portkey can take you."

Each member of the group contemplated it and came to the same conclusion: it was definitely worth a shot.

"Where do we go?" Katarine asked weakly. Harry could see that they needed to move quickly.

"New York City." Harry replied quickly. "We can't apparate back home or anywhere close to it. I doubt that Voldemort will be watching the Muggle travel network. We get to New York and then take an airplane back to London. From there, we should be able to sneak back to Hogwarts."

The four looked around and seeing that no one had any better ideas, they agreed. Harry slowly pulled off his glasses and laid them on the ground in front of him. With a quick wave, he performed the necessary magic. The glasses glowed a soft red before returning to normal.

"How long do we have?" Ginny asked him.

"About fifteen seconds." Harry replied as he took hold of one of the sides of the glasses. In a rush, each of the other three grabbed a small piece of his glasses.

As time slowly drifted by, each one silently hoped. Hoped that it would work and that they would be able to get home.

Then, they all felt that familiar pull from just behind their navel, and they were gone.

* * *

"What da hell are ya doin? Get the hell outta the road!"

Harry knew instantly that it had worked. The portkey had taken them to a small alley just a few blocks from Times Square. Harry had a friend in the American Ministry that lived not too far from there. While he had no intention of meeting up with him, he had remembered this alley and knew that he could create that image in his head. He had been right.

"Harry, I do believe we have gotten to our location." Albus said with a sly grin.

"I think you're right, Albus." Harry replied with a chuckle. "Quick, follow me."

Harry ran out of the alley and drew his wand. New York was a strange place, even in the muggle world. No one would think twice about seeing a wand like Harry's.

Harry approached the road and gave a quick flick of his wand. Suddenly, a yellow taxi pulled up and stopped right in front of them. Harry opened the door and then turned to the rest of the group.

"Lose your cloaks and get it." he said quickly.

Each of them did as they were told. They grabbed their cloaks, pulled their wand out and then got rid of their cloaks in an alley. Even then, Albus was still dressed rather strangely for a Muggle.

"Whatever." Harry said, seeing Albus' still awkward dress. "Get it."

Quickly, each of them piled into the backseat of the small taxi.

"Where?" the taxi driver said. Harry was definitely sure he didn't speak English.

"JFK." Harry replied simply, indicating the largest airport in the NYC area.

For the next hour, the four of them relaxed in the back of the taxi before they arrived at the airport at around 9:00 local time. Harry kept checking on Katarine. She had passed out again in the back of the car and she was beginning to form a fever. Harry hoped that they wouldn't take too long getting back to London.

As they pulled up, Harry drew his wand and transfigured the buttons on his jacket into American muggle money. Then, Harry took that money and multiplied it until they had plenty of money. Harry quickly paid the driver as they got out and then headed for the main terminal.

Harry quickly looked up at the flight board and saw that the last flight for London left in just ten minutes! Without explanation, he took off running. Moments later, he reached the ticket terminal.

"Four tickets to London." he nearly yelled to the teller out of breath.

"ID?"

Harry didn't even hesitate. A quick flick of his wand and the teller forgot anything about an ID or luggage. Less than a minute later, he had paid for four tickets and they were sprinting through the terminal to their flight gate.

They had been running through the enormous airport when suddenly Harry got an idea. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fool all the Muggles at the security station and they would need another way around. So, he quickly pulled the small group off to the side and cast a Disillusionment Charm on each of them. Within moments, they had snuck their way around the security station and were on their way to the flight gate. Each of them stopped in the restroom to lift the Disillusionment Charm. After they had done that, they all met up and quickly continued on their way.

Finally, several minutes later, they arrived at the gate and were seated in four first class seats on a flight to London. The four seats faced towards each other so that they were able to converse. Katarine sank into her seat and instantly fell asleep. The rest of them slowly slumped into their seat, none of them wanting to think about what lie ahead for them.

"We'll have to get her looked at when we get back to Hogwarts." Harry said simply, nodding his head slightly towards the sleeping blonde across from him.

"I agree, although wizards are naturally more resilient to illness. I'm sure she will be fine." Albus replied softly.

Suddenly, a voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. This is a one way flight to London, England. I hope you all have your passports and your umbrellas with you as it looks like it's going to be a rainy day when we land. Now, if you'll look to the front..."


	15. Homecoming

**07.22.2006**

**6:11 AM**

Hermione hadn't slept in nearly thirty-six hours. They still hadn't heard anything from Harry or any of the others and now she was really beginning to worry. And so, at just after six in the morning, she stood in the middle of Xavier's office, staring out the window in nothing but her night gown. She was lost in her thoughts when someone came up from behind her.

"You need to sleep." Xavier's calming voice rang out in the din as his lips slowly caressed her bare shoulders.

"Xavier, I promise you that I would if I could." Hermione snapped back honestly.

"I know, Hermione." Xavier said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

The two of them stood there for some time and watched as the sun rose over the mountains and forest in the distance. Each of them had nearly fallen asleep standing up when a large stag burst through the wall in front of them.

_"Made it back to London. Convinced Tom to let us stay at the Cauldron. Open the wards so we can Apparate in. Do not respond."_

Finally, Hermione let herself relax into Xavier's arms as tears ran down her face. They were alive. It was the best news that Hermione had heard in a long time. She was so out of things that she didn't notice as Xavier sat her down in his chair and began taking down the wards.

The next few minutes were agony as she waited for Harry and the others to come back. She looked at the clock on the far wall. It had been nearly five minutes. Where were they? Had something bad happened? Another five minutes went by. They are coming, she thought.

Then, in an instant, four people miraculously Apparated into the room and collapsed on the floor.

Hermione vaulted the desk in front of her in order to get to her best friends, both of them lying on the floor, exhausted.

"Harry!" she heard her voice say in fear. "Harry! Are you ok?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "But Katarine isn't."

Hermione watched Xavier jumped over the other three to the German official.

"How is she?"

"She's only barely breathing." Xavier replied, far too calm for Hermione's liking. Then, he looked her right in the eyes. "I need Madam Pomfrey. Can you go and get her?"

Hermione turned and sprinted out of the room in response.

She ran out of his office and down all seven sets of the Grand Staircase to the Hospital Wing. As she got to Madam Pomfrey's office, she tried to stop and collect herself but it was no use. She burst through the door to find Madam Pomfrey working at her desk.

"Poppy! Harry and the others just returned and Katarine is in some very bad shape." Hermione screamed at the school nurse.

Rather than seem bothered by the early morning intrusion, Madam Pomfrey simply got up and put on her robe and follow Hermione back to Xavier's office. As they reached his office, Poppy raced in front of Hermione and beat her to the door. Crashing through it, she was on the floor helping Katarine in an instant.

"Severe hypothermia. Frostbite." Poppy said under her breath. Her eyes scanned the passed out German like a hawk. "We're probably going to have to remove that leg and hope that we can grow it back."

"How bad is it?" Harry breathed harshly.

"There's no way that a Muggle would have survived this." Madam Pomfrey replied roughly. "As it is, she might have heath issues for quite some time."

Finally, Hermione was able to get back down to the floor and help Harry sit all the way up.

"Where were you?" she asked, not really sure she wanted to know the answer.

"We used an experimental German technology that sent us to Antarctica where they were preparing to set up the most secure wizarding prison in the world. We had to walk nearly twelve kilometers in order to get out from under the Apparation wards they had placed there." Harry replied, looking at the floor the whole time.

Antarctica? _Well that explains the hypothermia and frostbite,_ Hermione thought to herself.

"You all are going to have to come to the Hospital Wing for at least today." Madam Pomfrey told the four travelers. "Ms. Kruger will be in the Wing for quite a while. Albus, I assure you that you will be there for the next two days. Potter and Weasley, you may be able to get out this evening if you show enough improvement."

All four of them slowly nodded their head. Hermione knew that despite Harry's stubbornness, there was no way he was leaving before Madam Pomfrey said he was.

"Now, Potter and Weasley, with the help of Granger and the Headmaster, you can walk yourself down. I will levitate Professor Dumbledore and Ms. Kruger down to the Hospital Wing. Once we're there, I will give you more instructions. Is that understood?" Madam Pomfrey ordered everyone in the room.

Hermione immediately stood up and pulled Harry from the ground. Normally, Harry would have hopped up on his own. However, this time, Hermione had to move quickly to get under Harry's arm as he could hardly hold himself up. Hermione watched as Xavier helped Ginny from the ground and swept her up off the ground. Almost as quickly as he did, she passed out in his arms.

"Be careful with her." Harry offered Xavier weakly.

Xavier turned around with Ginny in his arms.

"Not a problem, Potter. You don't need to worry about her." Xavier said with a small smirk.

Slowly, everyone started to make their way to the Hospital Wing. It took a while for the whole group to get out of the office but once they did, they most rather quickly to the Hospital Wing. After the the four were set on their beds, Madam Pomfrey stepped in front of them.

"Now, all four of you are to stay here for the night. No getting up. Not even you, Potter." she said with a stern look towards Harry.

"Fine." Harry muttered softly.

When she saw that Harry would comply, Madam Pomfrey turned to Hermione and Xavier.

"Now, Ms. Granger, Headmaster, I need you to leave so they get a good chance to rest."

Instantly, Xavier reverted back to Headmaster Mitchell.

"Actually Poppy, I need to speak to Harry briefly before I leave."

Hermione could tell that Madam Pomfrey did not want to hear this.

"Headmaster, these people need their rest. I must im-"

"I will allow them to rest, Poppy. But I need to talk to Harry. Then I will leave and allow Harry and the others to get as much rest as you deem necessary."

While Hermione could tell she didn't like his idea, she slowly nodded her head and then stepped into her office. Once she was gone, Hermione turned to Harry.

"What happened?" she asked with concern.

Harry sighed roughly. Hermione could tell it had been a rough day for him.

"We got to Berlin and she led us to the Ministry. When we got there, we were surrounded. Voldemort had already taken over and bribed Katarine to lead us to there. I think his plan was that he would be able to attack the castle and take us out at the same time."

"Well thankfully, he didn't succeed." Xavier replied softly next to Hermione. He was thinking something. Hermione made a mental note to ask him what it was later.

"Yeah. Thankfully, the German Ministry had plans to create a super-prison for wizards at the South Pole and had the technology to transport us there. Unfortunately, they had set up wards to prevent Apparation. So, I think we walked nearly 12 kilometers so we could Apparate out."

"Did you guys try a Portkey?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed and chuckled at the same time.

"Yeah, after Ginny Apparated all of us to the Antarctic coast." Harry said. "I didn't even think about it until then."

"So where did the Portkey take you?" Xavier asked.

"New York City. I knew that taking a Portkey into London would have been suicide." Harry replied shortly.

"Did you take a plane back?" Hermione asked, knowing Harry's tendency to utilize Muggle travel to move "under the radar."

"Yeah. We flew out of JFK and landed in London early this morning. We snuck across London to the Leaky Cauldron. Thankfully, there weren't any Death Eaters there. We got a room for the day, you should have seen the look on Tom's face. He must have seen a ghost before we came in." Harry replied with a good hearty chuckle.

"I'm sure he had." Hermione replied softly.

"Unfortunately, the Death Eaters have started doing daily raids of Diagon Alley, making sure that no one is hiding one of us."

"Great." Xavier replied, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So Pansy Parkinson burst the door open and started to attack her. In my fervor to defend our group, I may or may not have blown a hole in the side of the Leaky Cauldron. I wonder whether she survived that blast." Harry wondered aloud.

Hermione thought she had heard enough to know what was going on and from the look that Xavier had on his face, he was thinking the same thing. The two of them turned to leave but before they left, Hermione turned back to Harry.

"Get some rest, Harry. You've earned it." she replied with the first smile she could remember giving.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Xavier was sitting at his desk, staring off into space as Hermione finished up in the shower. All he could think about was how close they had all been. For the last few weeks, they just kept getting close. They never lost and they never won but they certainly were ending up in some horrible situations.

Xavier was abruptly knocked out of his stupor when Hermione knocked on the door to his office. He looked up at her lovingly as she walked into the room and sat at one of the plush chairs opposite the desk.

"We're getting very lucky, Hermione." Xavier said softly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione replied.

"We've been living by a ton of close calls. One of these days the calls aren't going to be close, they're going to be wrong and we're going to lose a lot of people."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But we can't worry about that, Xavier." Hermione said tenderly.

"We may not have time to worry about it later." Xavier shot back. "By then, people might be dead."

Hermione was about ready to open her mouth to reply when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in." Xavier said steadily.

Instantly, Zachary Rhine came running into the room.

"Zachary! Where have you been? It's been nearly three months since our escape from Azkaban!" Xavier said, standing to greet his old classmate.

"I've been trying to make my way to the castle but Merlin has been on my tail for nearly two months now. The only time he stopped trailing me was when he came with Voldemort to attack the castle."

"Why was he following you?" Xavier asked in confusion.

"Well, when you escaped from Azkaban, Draco and I pretended to join the Crescent Moon in order to figure out what they were going to do. Unfortunately, Draco turned without telling me. When Merlin came back to our headquarters, he had me imprisoned until he would figure out what to do with me. Thankfully, he had Goyle guarding me. So, I escaped and I've been dodging all over the countryside trying to get back here since then."

"Well, we're glad you're back." Hermione said, motioning for Zachary to sit down.

"I am too. Unfortunately, I can't stay." Zachary said resolutely.

"What?" Xavier replied in shock.

"Merlin has been tracking me. He nearly caught me in Liverpool last week. If I stay here, he'll follow."

"We can deal with that in time, Zachary." Xavier replied. "But under no circumstances am I letting you leave, even if it means taking you prisoner myself."

Zachary nearly answered. But just like a couple moments ago, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Xavier responded.

The door opened to reveal George Weasley.

"Xavier? We may have a problem." George said with a worried look on his face.

"What?" Xavier asked, not really sure he wanted to know what it was.

"Merlin is here."


	16. Bombshell

**07.22.2006**

**7:45 AM**

Xavier had called a small meeting of Upper Council and NOA members in the Hospital Wing. Hermione knew that Xavier wanted to keep Harry involved in this.

"So, here's the deal. Merlin and a small host of his army are waiting outside." Xavier said calmly. He amazed her with his even nature during trouble like this.

"What do they want?" Harry asked weakly from his bed.

"We're not sure." Xavier replied to the small group. Only Harry, Xavier, Hermione, Draco, Zachary, George, and Luna stood, crammed, in the small hospital room. "We plan on going out and seeing if there's something that we can do for him. While Merlin is surely against us, I don't believe he is into massacre and genocide."

"Do you think he's here to talk us into a truce?" George asked.

"Yes. I do." Xavier replied.

"I don't think Voldemort would agree with him though. I don't think that Merlin and Voldemort will work together for longer than they have to." Hermione added. "Merlin may already be tired of Voldemort."

"I don't care. He's still our enemy. We don't make deals." Harry replied sharply.

Hermione turned sharply.

"You may not, Harry, but that's not your decision to make." Hermione reminded him harshly. "We have to at least figure out a way to get him out of here. I'm not interested in talking peace unless he plans on leaving or surrendering."

"I find that unlikely." Zachary added. "He just spend the last three months chasing me all over the island while still figuring out how to fight you guys. It doesn't seem like he would just simply surrender."

"I would have to agree." Xavier replied solemnly. Then, he suddenly turned to Madam Pomfrey who had been seated in her office. "How long until Harry can leave, Poppy?"

An almost angry look flashed on her face before she remembered that Xavier was her boss.

"Headmaster, Mr. Potter has been in here so many times that I've lost count. He always leaves fine and comes back a mess. If he really feels fine, he can leave. However, it would be my suggestion that he stay through the evening.

Xavier seemed satisfied with her answer as he turned back to Harry. Hermione wondered why he even bothered asking.

"Harry, you're staying." Xavier said roughly. "George, Draco, and Zachary: You're coming with me to meet with Merlin. Hermione and Luna, come with us to the front gate. Keep watch. If something happens to us, get everyone in the castle out."

"Are you sure, Xavier?" Hermione asked. She always hated that she was left out of plans because she had been chosen to lead them. Unfortunately, she didn't have much of an opportunity to lead. Xavier was definitely the leader for now. Hermione was totally fine with that.

"Yes. By the way, I have an announcement to make before we go." Now, this was unexpected.

"After a lot of thinking, I have consulted with the school governors who will answer me and we have come to a simple conclusion: until this war is over, Hogwarts is officially closed. I have convinced the governors to continue paying school employees with myself as the lone exception. Once we have dealt with this threat, the school will be reopened. The letters went to the students this morning."

Whatever Hermione had expected Xavier to say, this was not it. She saw the look in Xavier and Harry's eyes and knew that the two of them felt that they had failed everyone. Hermione knew they needed to know otherwise.

"Alright, everyone, let's move." Xavier said sadly.

"Before you go, I need to speak with Xavier and Harry privately. You should go to the Main Hall and we will meet up with you shortly."

Hermione watched as the rest of the group walked out of the small room. George was the last to leave and he gave Hermione a small nod, obviously reading the same look that she had seen.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked weakly. It nearly killed to her to see Harry this bad. Hermione made a mental note to talk to Poppy about forcing Harry to stay in the hospital wing longer. He would only hurt himself if he left.

"I saw the look in your eyes when Xavier announced that the school wouldn't reopen next year." Hermione said knowingly. Instantly, Harry sagged into his hospital bed. Hermione was very forcibly reminded of the first time she remembered visiting him in the hospital wing after his battle with Quirrell. He had looked so weak then too.

"What about it, Hermione?" Harry asked bluntly.

"Well, having seen the same look on Xavier, I knew exactly what the pair of you were thinking and I saw the need to set you straight." Hermione replied as cheerfully as she could.

"Just like old times, huh?" Harry said. Hermione couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Xavier appeared to be examining the grout in the tiles on the floor.

"Both of you. This is not your fault. I saw that look in your eyes. You both need to know that this is not your fault. Harry, you've only done what was best for all of us all along. Xavier, you've been the rock for all of us. If you hadn't been here, I know that we would all be dead."

"You're exaggerating." Xavier replied with agitation.

"I'm not. If not for the two of you, Voldemort would probably own all of Europe. But between the two of you, you've managed to keep Voldemort's influence from spreading. The word is getting out about him. Pretty soon, the world will have to take notice and we'll get the help we need."

"However much help we've been is moot. The school isn't reopening." Xavier replied. "That was my one goal. That we could keep the world safe enough that Hogwarts would always stay open. This castle was built in the 9th century, Hermione. As someone who appreciates history, I would hope that you can understand the ramifications of this. This school has only been closed once before, in 1349, and that was because three-quarters of the staff, including the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster, died due to the Black Death. Other than that, the closest we got was in your second year when all you and all those Muggleborns were attacked."

"But that isn't your fault!" Hermione pleaded with him. He had to understand! "It isn't your fault that Voldemort came back! It isn't your fault that he's taken over!"

Suddenly, Harry stood up rashly. He weakly walked over to Hermione and stared directly into her eyes. While she had been expecting him to blow up, Harry did the opposite. He spoke at barely above a whisper.

"It. Is." he said simply.

"What?"

"It is our fault that he's back." he repeated. "If there's no one else to blame, then it is our fault. The Minister of Magic, The Headmaster of Hogwarts, The Head of the Auror Department and his right hand man? Those are the four most powerful people in the country, Hermione! This isn't like before when we could blame the Ministry for not taking action!"

"What do you mean?" Hermione yelled.

"We _were_ the Ministry." Harry replied softly. "We did act. We still lost. In the end, there was nothing we could do. We watched as Merlin manipulated us and brought Voldemort back to life. Then, we were forced to suffer months in jail while he took over. Even now, when the whole WORLD knows that Voldemort is in charge here, they send no aid. We are alone, Hermione, and we're already fighting an uphill battle."

Hermione just stood there, silent. As much as she hated agreeing with him, he had a point. They had been the ones responsible for protecting everyone. They had failed.

"Can we win?" Hermione asked as she fought back tears.

"Of course." Xavier replied strongly.

As much as Hermione loved Xavier, he wasn't the one he needed to hear the answer from. Instead, she looked at the one man she knew better than anyone. If there was anyone who knew her, it was him. And if there was anyone she trusted, it was him. Right now, all she needed to see was reassurance. Harry was right. They had been beaten back. All Hermione needed to see in those bright green eyes was confidence in them, confidence in _her._

"Harry?" Hermione asked softly.

Harry had spent the last few moments looking at the floor. Finally, he lifted his head, tears in his eyes and a smile on his face. His face changed to more of a grimace as he responded.

"If it kills me."

For some strange reason, that comforted her.

"Alright, Harry, lay down. We'll let you know how things turn out."

Harry continued his grimace as he began getting dressed.

"Are you mental? I said I wasn't going with Xavier but I'm sure as hell not staying in this bed any longer than I have to."

"Harry..."

"Hermione, I will sick Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex on you if you don't stop nagging me."

Hermione finally smiled when he said that.

"Do you even know how to do it?" Xavier asked him.

"No." Harry said quickly. "But she'll do it for me!"

Finally, everyone in the room broke down. Despite the fact that Merlin was sitting outside on the lawn, ready to annihilate them, they couldn't help but laugh. She knew that it had been too long since they'd had anything to laugh about. What Harry said wasn't even that funny but since they hadn't laughed since Ron died...oh no.

Instantly, Hermione sobered up.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Xavier asked through a teary grin.

"Ron." Hermione replied simply, not wanting him to ask any further but hoping that he would.

"What? Hermione, what is it?" Xavier asked again.

"It just doesn't seem right laughing. Laughing when he won't get to laugh anymore." Hermione replied, depressed.

Suddenly, she felt the arms of her young Headmaster wrap snugly around her. Instantly, she absorbed herself into the warmth of his embrace, relishing the closeness that she never thought she would feel again.

"He's right here, Hermione." Xavier whispered in her ear. "He's standing right behind you, laughing, alongside all of us."

Hermione pulled back and looked at the crystal eyes that were viewing her.

"Do you really believe that?"

"I know it and I know you do too, 'Mione." his pet name for her drove her nuts bur right now, it was exactly what she needed. Finally, Hermione had settled back down and was ready to go.

"Alright, let's go." she said softly as she led the other two out of the room.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, due to Harry needing some help getting down stairs, they finally reached the Entrance Hall. Hermione could see that some of the people there were looking harassed. Apparently, they had made them wait.

Instantly, Xavier stepped forward and looked at those that he had chose to go with them.

"Are you ready?" Xavier asked strongly. "Sorry, we made you wait."

"About damn time." Draco said harshly. "We thought the three of you had run off."

"Nope."

Xavier turned to Hermione and kissed her on the forehead. Suddenly, Hermione realized that he was leaving to go meet with one of the most powerful wizards to ever live.

"I'll never leave." he said softly to her.

"I know." Hermione said and she believed him.

Then, he turned nodded to the others and walked right out the front door, leaving Harry, Hermione and Luna standing in the Entrance Hall.

The three of them instantly went to the closest window they could find and looked out to see them walk out towards the camp that Merlin's army had set up. For awhile, nothing happened. Then, as if he was made of smoke, Merlin appeared, walking slowly out of the camp.

He walked up to the group that Xavier went with and eventually stopped as Xavier continued to approach. Hermione looked over at Harry. He was sweating profusely and tapping his left toe harshly on the ground. He was obviously very nervous.

"You ok, Harry?"

"Fine." Harry replied shortly. Obviously, he was lying.

"Harry?"

"Hermione, now is not the time." he replied brutally.

"They'll be fine." she replied sweetly.

"Hermione."

"Fine."

Hermione looked back out of the window and noticed that Xavier was still talking with Merlin.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Luna asked the pair of them.

"I don't know. I just wish they'd come back already." Harry said with an edge.

"Harry, I'm su-"

"Hermione, if you tell me they're fine again, I'll learn how to do that damn Bat-Bogey hex and cast it on you in your sleep!" Harry bellowed.

"Well, if you really must know, it-"

"If you finish telling me how to perform that Hex, I will magically glue your eyelids to your pillow."

"Harry, I-"

Suddenly, just when Hermione thought he was going to reply, all he could come up with was: "Ur..."

Then, he passed out. Hermione instantly moved to catch him but unfortunately, she was just a bit too slow. Harry hit his head hard and fell all the way down the stairs right next to him. Blood instantly poured out from the wound on Harry's head.

"Luna!" Hermione called to her.

Instantly, Luna came down to the bottom of the stairs where Harry had laid and instantly took off her cloak and wrapped it around his head in order to stop the bleeding. Neither Luna or Hermione had been trained in advance healing. At least not on the level to fix a head wound like this.

Finally, the two of them picked him up and began to run back towards the hospital wing. As they got him into the room, Hermione yelled.

"Poppy!"

In an instant, the nurse was back in the room. She saw the blood that covered the robes of Hermione and Luna and with a flash, she got to work.

"What happened?" she asked firmly.

"He was nervous watching what was going on outside." Hermione stated. "He was getting fired up when he suddenly passed out."

With a grim look, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over Harry. The major damage that had been done to the back of Harry's head healed within moments. However, there was still a rather large cut that was still pouring blood. With another wave, a bottle flew across the room and into the nurse's hands. She instantly went to work applying the brown liquid over the wound. Hermione instantly recognized it as Essence of Dittany.

Finally, she sank into the chair next to Harry's bed. She took a brief look and was amazed at the state of herself. Her robes, originally a deep brown, were now soaked and a rich red color. She looked down and noticed that she had lost a shoe somewhere in the castle and that there were large drops of Harry's blood all over her legs and feet. However, Hermione noticed that as bad as she looked, Luna had definitely gotten the worst of it. She had taken her robe off to wrap around Harry's head and so instead of getting blood on her robes, she got in on her clothes. Her once sky blue blouse was now the same color of Hermione's robes and her jeans were covered in blood as well.

"That should do it." Madam Pomfrey finally announced minutes later. "I've finished putting the Dittany on and within the next few minutes, this would should close up just fine."

"How will he be?" Hermione asked.

"He'll be pretty fragile for the next couple days. However, once he gets his bearings back, he should be fine. At least until he ends up back here." Madam Pomfrey added with a chuckle. "I thought I was done seeing him in here when he graduated. I guess eight years doesn't change much."

"Not enough." Luna replied softly.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a giant explosion. Moving with a speed she didn't know she had, Hermione bolted from the room and took off down the stairs, leaving Harry and Luna in the dust. Hermione had the brains to ditch her robe and extra shoe in a waste bin in the hallway before she entered the Entrance Hall. What she saw there was amazing.

Bill Weasley stood in the middle of the entrance hall, holding what appeared to be the end of a trick wand. Obviously created by George, the wand could support light levels of magic but anything too powerful would cause the front of the wand to explode, causing an incredibly loud noise and the caster's face to be covered in black dust.

"What were you doing?" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"I was trying to move some of the tables in the Great Hall. I wanted to have some of them ready in case we needed to bar the door." Bill replied.

"Well, it was a good idea." Hermione replied, trying to compose herself as she looked at the eldest Weasley boy with his flaming red hair and coal black face.

"Sure was." Bill replied as he shook his head. "I need to go find my _real _wand."

However, just as he said this, the door to the Entrance Hall opened and Xavier, George, Draco, and Zachary walked in. Instantly, George saw his brother's face.

"That's just wonderful!" George said as he fell to the floor, unable to control his laughter.

"I thought it was pretty funny myself." Bill replied. "What did you guys find out?"

Xavier hurried past Bill and walked right to Hermione.

"I need everyone in the Great Hall. Now."

* * *

**1:00 PM**

Two hours later, they finally managed to get every inhabitant of the ancient castle into the Great Hall. Xavier and Hermione stood at the front of the room as everyone took their seats at the House tables. There were about two hundred people who lived in Hogwarts. Most of them were the families of students who had been going to school there. They had joined their children there and decided to stay. However, only a few of these people had volunteered to fight for the New Order Army.

In the front sat the top members of the NOA. While there had been many more of them at the beginning, only sixteen members remained. Not including Harry, Hermione, and Xavier, they were: Fleur Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Bill Weasley, Percy Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Dennis Creevey, Draco Malfoy, Hagrid, George Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Dean Thomas. Some of them were members of the Upper Council. Others were not. Behind them sat another long list of former Hogwarts students: Zachary Rhine, Terry Boot, Hannah Abbott, Ernie MacMillan, Michael Corner, Oliver Wood, Cho Chang, Marcus Flint, Susan Bones, Seamus Finnigan, Parvati Patil, and Justin Finch-Fletchey. Hermione could also see Filus Flitwick back next to Cho. Viktor Krum and the foreign military leaders sat behind them. Severus Snape snuck into the room just moments before the meeting was set to begin

Suddenly, Xavier spoke up.

"As you probably know by now, Merlin and his army are outside. They are here representing both himself and Lord Voldemort. I have some good news and some bad news."

Hermione hadn't expected this.

"First, the bad news. Voldemort has convinced the giants in the mountains to join his cause. They will be here by nightfall. Once they're here, Merlin will send them in and then clean up the leftovers. They intend to take the castle."

Hermione could see the struggle in Xavier's eyes. But, he knew what he needed to do.

"As of today, the New Order Army is disbanded. Merlin has given his word that anyone who returns to their homes as does not protest will not be harmed. At sundown tonight, anyone left in the castle will be deemed a resister and will be executed."

She couldn't believe it. They had lost.

"There is some promising news. I received a letter from the American Ministry of Magic. Any Hogwarts student that wishes to attend the American Magical Academy this fall will be given a free transfer there."

Xavier collected himself before he continued. Hermione could see the tears welling up inside of him. He was so strong.

"I have also learned that the American Auror Department intends to send one hundred Aurors to take down Lord Voldemort and Merlin. They'll be here in an hour."

Finally, silence took the room. It was at this time that Hermione decided it was her time to step forward.

"Due to the dissoultion of the New Order Army, the Upper Council is no more. Therefore, everyone has their own choice."

Suddenly, Hagrid "stood" up in the back.

"Where is 'Arry?" he asked.

"Harry is still recovering from his time away along with Ginny and Albus." Hermione replied to the half-giant.

"Does he know anything about this?" Arthur Weasley asked from somewhere near the back.

"No." Hermione replied simply. "He's been unconcious for about the last two hours and was not awake when Xavier returned from his discussion with Merlin."

"How do we know that Merlin will keep his word?" Draco Malfoy asked.

Hermione could sense that people were not happy with how things were going. Suddenly, an idea popped into Hermione's mind.

"We don't." Hermione replied. "He could have someone waiting to kill each and every one of you when you get home."

Xavier seemed to catch on to her line of thought.

"She's right. We could all die tonight. There is another option."

"What is that?" Zachary Rhine asked from the front.

Hermione looked at Xavier, already knowing what he was going to say.

"We accept the help of the Americans, the French, the German, and the Bulgarians. We take their help, we fortify our position here, and we fight."

Xavier's words seemed to have the exact effect he wanted: mass pandemonium. Xavier raised his hand and in moments, he got the silence that he requested.

"This castle is our home. It has been here as long as anyone can remember. If we leave this castle, if we run home, we forsake the one thing that we all have in common. More than the Ministry, Hogwarts is a beacon to all witches and wizards in Britain. If we leave it to the Death Eaters, we might as well forsake our magic."

Again, a great racket rose in the Great Hall. This time, however, Xavier let it continue. He let it continue until he saw three people walking gently down the main aisle. The whole hall was silenced as they supported each other down the aisle. Once they reached the front, the tall, elderly wizard and the short, red head sat. But, the Man who Lived did not. Instead, he turned and faced the crowd gathered there.

"I am very weak. Due to trying to push myself to early after returning from Antarctica, I passed out and hit my head. I lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, Hermione and Luna were there to save me. Fortunately, Xavier and Hermione magically amplified their voices. I've been listening to everything that's going on down here and I only have one thing to say."

The masses waited, hanging on every word, as Harry spoke up again.

"I'm not leaving. More than any place on Earth, Hogwarts is my home. I would lay down my life to protect this school and I know that many of you would do the same. Tonight, the giants and the Death Eaters will come." Harry said firmly.

"LET THEM COME! Let them come and try and destroy this school! Because they will have to kill me to do it."

There was a brief moment where Hermione could have sworn she heard the air being sucked out of the room. Then, a noise so loud and so unfamiliar rang out that Hermione could hardly believe her ears. It was...celebration. Just like Xavier had done before, Harry raised his hand and within a matter of seconds, a hush fell.

"If you wish to go home, that is your choice. There may or may not be someone waiting for you there. If you stay here, there is certainly someone waiting for you. But! If you stay here...If you stay and fight, and we win? We may finally begin to take back what is ours."

Hermione saw Xavier move quickly out of the corner of her eye.

"Harry, do you think you can still command?"

"I know that I can."

"Harry, George, Neville, and Draco: you will be my commanders. Split the people here into four groups. Draco, take your group to the towers and prepare for long-range casts. Neville, I want you on the grounds outside. George, you're going to be in the Entrance Hall just behind him. Harry, take your people to the Quidditch Pitch once night falls. You'll get further orders from there."

Hermione watched as Xavier and Harry stood in front of hundreds of people and made plans for war. Suddenly, inspiration struck her.

"For Ron! For Demelza! For all those we've lost due to these bastards!"

The roar itself had to have frightened Merlin out on the lawn. In moments, the host was sorted and they went on their way.

"To war, we go." Xavier whispered to himself.


	17. Shockwave

**07.22.2006**

**2:11 PM**

Finally, Xavier and Harry saw the owl they were waiting for. The owl soared above their heads before quickly diving towards Xavier and dropping the letter it carried into the Headmaster's hands. Xavier hurriedly opened the letter and began to read:

_Xavier and Harry,_

_We are ready. Disable your wards in exactly two minutes._

_D_

"Thank god, they're sending Daniel." Harry replied in relief.

"Daniel?" Hermione said from behind Xavier.

"Daniel Watson. He's been the Head of the Auror Department in America for as long as I can remember. Way longer than I've been in the Ministry at least."

"How old is he?" Xavier asked. He still couldn't believe he didn't know who the Head of the American Aurors were.

"Late forties? He looks older. He was only an Auror for like five years before he was made Head of the Department. I met him when I went to the US a few years ago."

Xavier checked his watch and realized that they were a little over the requested time. Xavier quickly whipped out his wand and went about removing the wards. Around thirty seconds later, one hundred men and women dressed in matching black and silver robes had Apparated into the Great Hall.

Instantly, a worn and grizzly looking man stepped forward and greeted Harry.

"Potter, how's life here?" he said in a voice that sounded like the roar of a dragon. Deep and gravelly.

"It's certainly been better." Harry replied, trying to smile. Xavier had to commend him. For as much as Harry said he hated playing it up for other people, he was very good at it.

"Now, who did you bring with you?" Harry added.

"Well, it's a collection of Aurors really. About half of them are new, within the last year. Thankfully, I've got the other end too. "

"Really? Who's the best?" Xavier asked the man curiously.

"Xavier Mitchell, right? We've heard a lot about you on the other side of the pond." Watson replied.

"Really?"

"Sure. Youngest Headmaster at Hogwarts. Reportedly dueled the wizard Merlin and beat him. Stories like that travel quickly."

Xavier looked at the elder Auror with a sheepish look. Then, he realized what Watson had said.

"We didn't realize that the news about Merlin had travelled."

"It was never officially reported. Only rumors, really. But shit like that can't always be made up. I had a UC giving me information. She checked and it seemed to be validated." Daniel replied.

"Are we allowed to know who it is?" Harry asked.

"Who?"

"Your undercover." Harry responded. "I thought all UC's had to be confirmed through the host country's Auror Department." Harry was obviously upset that his colleague had apparently gone behind his back.

"That's normally true, but we were using one of your citizens so it wasn't as big of a deal." he replied nonchalantly.

"Well, who was it?" Xavier asked.

"I suppose I can tell you now. She stopped sending us information nearly a month and a half ago: her name was Demelza Robins. Did any of you know her?"

Xavier felt his heart stop. He hadn't heard her name in nearly a month and had managed to stop dreaming of her nearly two weeks ago. Now, he knew that all those would be coming back with a rage. Xavier noticed that both Hermione and Harry were looking at him.

"Xavier, your face is white." Hermione whispered to him with concern.

"Sorry." Xavier said shortly before he turned to Harry. "Get Watson and his men to where they need to be. Now, Watson, who's your best two, other than yourself?"

Watson didn't seem put off by his sudden change or his questions. He simply answer.

"Carey Konrad and Ryan Thompson." he said simply before turning over his shoulder. "Thompson! Konrad! Here!"

Instantly, two young Aurors stepped forward. Carey was a short, blonde with glasses that looked to be made entirely of glass. Ryan was the exact opposite. Tall and lanky, his brown eyes gave him the appearance of a bird of prey.

"I'm taking these two with me." Xavier replied simply. "Now, get them into position." he added curtly before turning to leave. However, before he got far, Hermione caught up with him.

"Are you ok?" she asked with worry in her eyes.

"Never better."

"You're lying." she snapped at him.

Xavier turned and instantly towered over her.

"Really? What gave you that idea? I just found out that the girl that I killed was passing information on us to the Americans. I know we're political allies but that's just insane. For all I know, she didn't even like me. She just knew that I was in position to be in contact with you and Harry, the two people who, at the time, held the most information in the Ministry. Then, once we were here, I became the one with the information. There was almost nothing I didn't tell her."

"I am missing the point, Xavier." Hermione replied.

"Did she really love me?" Xavier shot back powerfully.

"I don't know, Xavier." Hermione replied, suddenly uncharacteristically soft. "All I know is that I love you. I miss Ron just as much as you miss Demelza. I know that this information must be hard for you to hear. It puts doubt into everything that you felt. But, ask yourself this, what did you feel?"

"What do you mean?"

"When she was around, what did you feel? Did it feel like she was just waiting for you to leave the room so she could contact Watson?"

"No." Xavier replied solemnly. "It felt real. The only way I can describe how it felt is that it is the only thing that even comes close to how I feel about you."

"I know how you feel, Xavier. But just like Ron, she's watching you and protecting you."

"You think? Was it really that big a deal?"

"What do you think?" Hermione asked. She seemed to enjoy answering his questions with another question.

"It was a big deal to me."

"Then, it probably was to her." Hermione said. Then, she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug just like he had done earlier in the Hospital Wing.

"Thanks, Hermione." Xavier whispered into her ear.

"No problem. Just don't leave me, ok?" she replied softly.

"Deal." Xavier replied. "Now, let's get everyone set."

* * *

**9:50 PM**

Harry watched as the light from the son finally dropped over the lake. Finally, he could get moving. He turned to his group. They had spent the last few hours determining how the group was going to be split. Each person was weighed and judged by the four commanders. Eventually, they were all placed and except for a few cases, each commander was happy with the group they would lead.

Harry had a strange collection of people. However, he trusted all of them and since his group would arguably be the most important, that was the most valuable asset they had. The whole group was nearly thirty people. However, he only really knew six of them: Percy, Dean, Zachary, Fleur, Charlie, and Susan Bones. The dynamic that had developed in the last hour since they assembled before their trip to the Quidditch Pitch where they would wait Xavier's signal was surprising.

Instantly, Fleur had stepped forward, suggesting to Harry a number of different strategies. Unfortunately, Harry had to let her down and tell her that he didn't have to come up with plans, just execute the ones that Xavier had already come up with. Charlie and Dean had taken to speaking out everything they would need to check on the way to the Pitch, from the bridge to the path to the Forbidden Forest. Percy and Susan had both remained fairly quiet. Harry suspected they were each secretly nervous.

"Let's go." Harry said firmly. He still didn't feel as strong as he should have but he knew that he couldn't lay in the hospital wing. He had to be out here. It's all he'd ever known.

"Remember, we need to be absolutely silent until we get Xavier's signal." he reminded them. Everyone in his large group silently nodded. Harry abruptly turned and sprinted out the door towards the Pitch.

The trip to the Pitch was entirely uneventful. It took nearly five minutes for them to cross the grounds until they got the playing field. They turned and faced the castle, brimming with anticipation.

Suddenly, a voice spoke loudly over the grounds. Unlike the last time, this wasn't the voice of Lord Voldemort. Instead, it was the White Wizard.

_"Inhabitants of Hogwarts Castle, you are now in violation of Ministry Order 666. Unfortunately that means I get to enter the castle and kill each and every one of you. Now, for the grand opening, I give you: GIANTS!"_

Then, Harry noticed a mass of shadows moving on the far side of the castle and heard the earth-moving roar of the giants. Suddenly, a flash of light came from the tower closest to them. A mix of blue, red, and green, the wave of spells launched from the team of Draco Malfoy fell towards the raging giants. Being as far away as they were, it seemed as though the spells were moving in slow motion.

"It's kind of pretty when you look at it from this far away." Susan said softly.

"It is." Harry replied. "It's just hard being here."

"I'm still surprised you agreed to being this far out of the battle. I mean we're just here to be the cavalry." Charlie stated.

"I'm still pretty beat up from the last few days. I wouldn't have been any good if I had to endure a long fight like they're going to have in there. This way, we run in there and drive them out."

"Still, I figured that you want to kill somebody for putting you out here." Charlie replied.

"Well, I still don't like it.

* * *

Nearly a half hour later, Harry was sick of waiting.

"What the hell are they waiting for?" Harry asked to no one in particular.

"Perhaps ze are waiting for ze last pozzible minute." Fleur suggested.

"Well, if they are, I think we've certainly got there." Dean replied softly.

Xavier's ears must have been burning because suddenly a large eagle came flying around the side of the school and landed in front of Harry.

_"Merlin's inside. Go in through the front gate. Fire to kill."_

Harry didn't waste any time. He took off running as fast as he could towards the front, leaving the rest of his group to follow him. Nearly six minutes later, they finally reached the front of the school to a horrible sight. Bodies lay strewn across the front lawn including the corpses of six giants. Harry had to say that he was impressed that they managed to kill the giants. Harry tried not to look at any of the faces but unfortunately looked down at the wrong time and saw Hannah Abbott and Michael Corner laying next to each other. Corner, Harry remembered, had been with Draco in the tower. He must have fallen to his death as his crooked neck attested to.

Finally, the group reached the gate. Harry drew his wand and decided to make a grand entrance. After clearing everyone, he leveled his wand and fired.

_"Confringo!"_

The doors instantly flew off their hinges, blowing metal and broken wood into the Great Hall. As he expected, he looked up to see Merlin and the Death Eaters on the main level with the former NOA lining around them. Merlin was surrounded. Harry instantly decided to press his advantage.

"Attack!" he screamed over the noise of casted curses and explosions.

Within moments, his team had leveled nearly twenty Death Eaters. They funneled through the doors as quickly as they could and then fanned out, mowing down the Death Eaters in front of them with a combination of magic. After about ten minutes, Merlin seemed to realize his lost cause. Unfortunately for him, Harry had closed down the last exit he had.

So, Merlin turned and simply began to beat his way out. Harry was the last line of defense in front of the door. He knew that he had to try and get someone to help him because in his weakened state, if he had to fight Merlin, there's no way he could survive.

Harry watched as Merlin slowly began to work his way towards him. He was amazed at how determined the old man was to escape. Within a couple seconds, Merlin had disarmed nearly ten witches and wizards and had made his way to him.

"Get out of my way, Potter. I know for a fact that you aren't going to be able to beat me. Two days in Antarctica will do that to you." Merlin growled at him.

"No." Harry replied weakly. In truth, Harry was exhausted. All he wanted as a nice bed. However, he knew that he was the last line of defense. He had to try.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Merlin raised his wand and began his assault. Suddenly, a shield appeared in front of Harry as Xavier and Hermione raced in front of him.

"Let me leave and I won't kill you." Merlin grumbled again.

"I doubt that." Xavier replied. He had a huge cut down the side of his head that appeared to be pouring blood and another on his shoulder that was definitely causing him some problems.

"Me too." Hermione added. Her normally bushy hair was as wild and untamed as Harry had ever seen it and she had one finger that looked completely dislocated.

"Fine, have it your way."

The three of them then proceeded to take on the elderly wizard. Despite the numbers, he didn't seem to have a problem handling them. He parried every shot the three of them fired and returned each one. Suddenly, a cutting curse hit Hermione in the leg, resulting in a huge gash just about her ankle that forced her to drop to the ground. Harry and Xavier worked to cover for Hermione but it was no use. Just as soon as she had hit the ground, Xavier was hit with another cutter, this time across his arm.

Finally, it was just one on one. Harry was slowly loosing the strength to fight. Harry had been through a lot but he couldn't remember being as tired as he was trying to fight someone so gifted. Suddenly, Merlin spoke up.

"I'm sick of this. I know how to distract you."

Then, without warning, he turned and fired at Ginny, who had been fighting Goyle with her back to Merlin about fifteen feet away.

How Harry got over there he would never find out, but the next thing he knew, he stood in front of her with his wand drawn and a shield in front of her.

"I'm impressed, Potter. Even on your last legs you manage to make some good magic. It's unfortunate you had to pick the wrong side to fight for."

However, Harry didn't hear him. He was too busy thinking about what Merlin had just done. Using other people in a duel was fairly common, but attacking someone else that wasn't even involved? That was too much. And it was Ginny! He had to have known who it was! Harry was about ready to attack the old man again when an enormous blue wave exploded over the scene. It was a power like Harry had never seen before. It seemed to be pure magic itself sweeping across the castle. Harry had about enough time to acknowledge its presence before he passed out.

* * *

****The first thing he noticed was the sun. It was shining directly into his face. The second thing he noticed was how wrong that was. The only window in the hospital wing faced east, where the sunset would come in. Harry figured that since he had passed out, a couple of days must have passed. Then, he noticed a few other things. First, he wasn't on a bed but a cot and second, he wasn't in the Hospital Wing but a tent.

Finding this incredibly strange, Harry went to sit up when his whole body contracted. His groans must have alerted someone to him because he heard heavy footsteps outside as Ginny ran in the open side of the tent. Upon seeing him away, she instantly dove onto the ground next to him and began to hug him.

"Oh, thank God, you're awake!" she cried as she sobbed into his neck.

"Of course I'm awake, Gin. I pass out all the time. I wake up the next day or the day after. It's not really a big deal anymore." Harry replied as he tried to lighten up the situation.

Unfortunately, this is when things got weird. As soon as Harry stopped speaking, Ginny stopped crying and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You need to come with me. I've got something to tell you." she said, deadly serious.

Harry, who thought that she had to be joking, laughed it off.

"Good one, Gin. Now, why am I in a tent?" Harry asked.

"I'm not kidding, Harry." she replied and this time, Harry could see that she meant it. "Take this. Dumbledore says you'll need it."

Ginny handed him a cane. She was right. The effort it took to remain standing upright was immense. If he hadn't had the cane, he would have almost assuredly been on the ground.

"Oh, so he's awake? That's good. I thought Madam Pomfrey said that he wasn't going to be awake for another couple days."

"Yeah. Let's go, Harry."

She grabbed his left arm, the one not on the cane, and slowly pulled him out of the tent. Harry saw that he was in a row of numerous other tents. But, why were they there? This, combined with Ginny's behavior, worried him.

"Ginny, what's with the tents?"

"Turn around, Harry."

Harry turned around, expecting to see more tents. However, what he actually saw was far more horrifying that anything he could have possibly imagined. The castle that had been the bastion of hope for the Boy-Who-Lived and many others, the castle that had been his home, the castle that was one place Voldemort couldn't get, was in ruins. Unlike after the Battle of Hogwarts when large parts of the castle remained intact, there was nothing left but a pile of rubble. Even the Quidditch Pitch had fallen. Tears ran down Harry's face as the realization that the castle that had protected him and gave him so much was gone. Destroyed.

"What happened?" Harry asked through his tears.

"It is called core detonation." said an aged voice behind him.

Harry turned to see Albus Dumbledore, looking perfectly healthy, walking towards him.

"What?" was all Harry could reply.

"A core detonation. You see, Harry, all of our magic generates from somewhere in our body. We aren't exactly sure where but we know it's there. In this place lies your magic. Unfortunately, this means that our magic is just as much a slave to our body as the rest of our body is."

"What does this have to do with what happened to the castle?" Harry snapped.

"I'm getting there." Dumbledore replied simply. "In time of severe stress when your body has given out, your brain is tired and you are fighting against innumerable odds, your body has one final defense: a core detonation, a single release of all the magic in your body. The amount of magic in a person depends on the size of the release. A squib would barely knock me over, despite my frailty. However, an incredibly powerful wizard could knock down whole buildings."

"Is that what happened here?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Not exactly. You see the magic released here was so powerful that it cancelled out many of the wards that had kept the castle up for so long. The building itself was only bricks and mortar. It was the magic that had kept the castle from aging. Without that magic, there was nothing to keep the castle standing and so it fell."

Harry thought about this. A single release of energy that could equal the magic left in the school? Who could do that?

"Who released it?"

Instantly, Dumbledore was left speechless. And just as quickly, Harry knew why.

"It was me." It was not a question.

"You had spent hours in Antarctica, passed out, hit your head and drawn a lot of blood. Then, you had ran all around the grounds and dueled on the most powerful wizards to ever live, who then attacked the one person in the world you love the most."

"It was me."

Harry couldn't believe it. He was the reason there was rubble instead of a castle. He had brought Hogwarts to the ground.

"Why am I so sore?"

"A byproduct of the release. It will also take some time for your magic to fully return, although by now most of it will have come back."

That reminded Harry of his other question.

"Speaking of which, how long was I out?"

Another pause. Harry's life seemed full of pauses. A life full of people not able to simply be honest with him.

"How long, Albus?" Suddenly, Harry became aware of how chilly he was.

"Today's date in November 1, 2006. You've been unconscious for 3 months and 9 days."


	18. The Castle Falls and Rises Again

**11.02.2006**

**7:35 AM**

Xavier was sitting in the main tent set up outside the rubble of Hogwarts when he heard someone approaching. Xavier leaned forward to see Harry walking with his cane towards him. Xavier sat back and waited patiently when Harry entered the tent. He slowly dropped into the chair on the opposite side of the door that was currently operating as Xavier's desk.

"I want to know what happened."

"I figured you would. Are you sure you don't want Ginny or Hermione to tell you? I mean you did kind of disappear for the rest of yesterday after you were told. Hearing how the castle fell isn't going to be any easier." Xavier replied gently.

"I know, Xavier. But I also know that you aren't going to lie to me." Harry replied.

"Fine."

* * *

**10.22.2006**

**10:21 PM**

"Merlin's breaking his way inside!" Xavier yelled to Daniel and his men who had remained on the upper landing. He had to yell because of the numerous spells that were pounding at the main hall door.

"We're ready!" Watson replied.

Just as he finished speaking, the door exploded open and Merlin and his men sprung inside. Once all of his men were inside, Merlin turned and with a wave of his wand, shut the door. Xavier knew that nothing short of blowing those doors up would open them. Instantly, he turned and fired.

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

With a silver rush, a giant eagle exploded from his wand. He quickly gave his orders.

"Go to Harry! Tell him Merlin's inside. Go in through the front gate. Shoot to kill!"

The eagle waited just long enough to confirm his order before it took off. Finally, Xavier turned to the matter at hand. Seeing Hermione dueling with Yaxley, he raced over to help her. Unfortunately, Blaise Zabini decided to intervene.

"Hold on a second Mitchell!" he yelled before firing. Xavier didn't waste any time. He still blocked the Death Eater's attack before returning fire.

_"Avada Kedavra!" _

Zabini never stood a chance. The green blast glanced his right shoulder. Fortunately, the glance was all he needed as Zabini's lifeless corpse hit the ground. Xavier looked up to where Hermione and Yaxley had been and saw something stunning. Hermione standing over the body of Yaxley, shaking, hair wild. Xavier instantly ran to her.

"Hermione!"

She snapped out of stupor and stared at Xavier.

"He was going to attack you! I had to take him down!" Hermione pleaded her case. "I didn't even know I could cast the curse!"

"It's ok." Xavier said quietly, although he's sure she couldn't actually hear him with the ruckus around her. Their tender moment was cut short when a Killing Curse flew just over Hermione's head and hit the wall behind them. Xavier turned to see two foreign looking wizards staring at the pair of them. Apparently, they had been recruiting as well.

Xavier aimed his wand directly at the closest wizard: _"Stupefy!"_

The right blast was blocked by the wizard and the battle was on. All four of them battled silently from that point on. While Xavier noticed that both of his opponents were very aware and competent defenders, their attacks were often poorly aimed and very weak. They definitely seemed like the kind of people that Merlin would keep around. They'd protect him but never be able to take him down.

Hermione struck the first blow when a Blasting Curse hit one of the wizards directly in the mouth. Blood and bone splattered all over the wall behind him as the decapitated corpse slid down the wall. From there, it was simple. Xavier began firing every spell he could think of. Within seconds, the single wizard's shield were getting weaker. Again, Hermione shot a blasting curse forward. This one managed to break through the man's weak defense and throw him against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Just as they were about to celebrate, an explosion was heard. Xavier turned to see the front gate explode and Harry's crew racing inside. Xavier watched as Harry ordered his team to press their advantage and attack. However, both Xavier and Hermione saw the same thing shortly afterwards. Merlin was abandoning his men and fighting his way out. He was moving slowly towards Harry.

Without saying a word, both Hermione and Xavier tore from the entrance to Great Hall to the Main Gate. They got there just in time. Just as Merlin attacked Harry, Hermione was able to throw up a relatively effective shield to prevent Harry from dying.

"Let me leave and I won't kill you." Merlin growled.

"I doubt that." Xavier said as he looked at Harry. He seemed incredibly weak and could hardly stand. In fact, any other wizard probably wouldn't have already given in to unconsciousness.

"Me too." Hermione added next to him. She also appeared worried for Xavier but her expression managed to remain neutral.

"Have it your way." he said as he launched towards them.

Xavier noticed how he instantly took control. Despite the fact that Xavier had beaten him before one-on-one, they weren't even able to come close to hitting him. Suddenly, Merlin slipped a cutting curse that hit Hermione in the leg causing her to fall to the ground, grasping her leg in pain. Harry valiently stepped forward to fill the void but the tide had already turned towards their opponent.

Xavier must have been too worried about making sure that Harry didn't get hit because he didn't even notice as Merlin cast another cutter, this time hitting him in the arm. Instantly, Xavier fell to the ground, dropping his wand. Xavier watched in horror as the Man Who Lived, who was impossibly weak, took on Merlin.

They fought for a minute and Xavier saw Merlin's mouth move, although the noise made it impossible for him to hear what he was saying. Then, he turned a swivel and aimed his wand for Ginny Weasley.

In an instant, Harry moved to cover her, moving with a speed that he may not have been able to manage completely healthy. Harry's face twisted into an insane rage. Then, just as Harry was about to fire, the lights seemed to go out in the room as Harry shined a bright blue. Then, in an instant, he exploded, expelling what appeared to be pure magic from him.

In that moment, Xavier knew that whatever Harry had done, it must have been very pure magic. Xavier, although laying just a few feet from him, hadn't been affected at all but Pansy Parkinson, who was on the other side of the room, was thrown backwards and impaled by one of the large statues in the entrance hall.

Once the explosion was over, Harry passed out and sank to the ground. Xavier moved quickly to get underneath him and catch him before he hit his head on the ground. Xavier gently laid Harry down when he saw something horrifying out of the corner of his eye. He saw one of the bricks from the ceiling of the Entrance Hall fall and hit the ground. Whatever Harry had done must have messed up part of the magic in the castle, Xavier thought. Instantly, he knew what this would mean. He raced back across the floor and grabbed his wand, raising to his throat to magically amplify his voice.

_**"EVERYONE OUT! NOW!"**_

Xavier turned to notice that Merlin was up and running out of the castle. Under normal circumstances, he would have chased after him. Unfortunately, he had more pressing matters to deal with. Another brick hit the ground as Xavier picked Harry up and threw him over his shoulders. Xavier turned and saw that Hermione had done what she could to heal her leg and was getting back up to her feet. Nodding to her, Xavier, Harry in tow and Hermione on his heels, tore out of the castle.

Once they were a fair distance from the castle, Xavier set Harry down on the grass and turned to face the castle.

"I need to go back and make sure everyone gets out." Xavier said softly as he healed his arm.

"You'll do no such thing!" Hermione scolded him. "We need you!"

"True. But, I'm no good if we don't have people to help me." Xavier replied simply before tearing towards the castle. On his way there, he passed Ginny and Charlie carrying Percy. It was good to see that they had gotten out.

Xavier was nearing the Entrance Hall when he heard a horrible noise, followed by a cacophany of screams coming from behind him. He looked up to see the Astronomy Tower collapse on itself in just a few seconds. Xavier again amplified his voice.

_**"THE ASTRONOMY TOWER JUST CAME DOWN! YOU NEED TO GET OUT!"**_

As if he was a prophet, ten other people came racing outside just as the ceiling to the main hall collapsed. Xavier ran back to Hermione and saw the tears running down her face. To every Muggle-Born and every child that dreamed of becoming a wizard, Hogwarts was more than a school. It was home. Now, that home was collapsing to the ground. Xavier grabbed Hermione and held her close as they watched the rest of the castle fall. The last part of the castle that stood was Gryffindor Tower. It stood for nearly three minutes. But in a short time, even that fell.

Xavier looked out over the pile of rubble. Normally, a pile of rocks wouldn't upset him. But this was no pile of rocks. This was Hogwarts.

* * *

**11.02.2006**

**8:40 AM**

"We hung around the next couple of days before we finally decided that we were going to stay. People risked going home and getting tents and stuff to sleep with." Xavier added, officially ending his story.

"Did everyone get out?"

If anyone else would have answered Harry, he knew he would have gotten a pause here. Fortunately, Xavier wasn't one of stretching things like this out.

"No."

"Who?" was Harry's simple reply.

"Well, other than Merlin, we're not sure that any of the Death Eaters that you knocked out managed to escape. We suppose that it's possible that they escaped to Hogsmeade but we're doubtful. Unfortunately, Merlin didn't have any powerful Death Eaters there. Mostly foreign wizards and B-Wizards."

Harry took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"What about our side?"

"Michael Corner fell from the tower. Hannah Abbott was trampled by one of the giants. Marcus Flint was killed by Merlin himself. Fought him off pretty well too. Padma Patil, who had just recovered from what those animals did to her in June, she was still in the castle when it went down. She was fighting with one of the few Death Eaters who didn't get knocked out from your blast. Saved Luna's life."

"Any others?"

"A large number of the American Aurors, including both of Daniel's assistants. Zachary Rhine was still in the castle. Dean Thomas and Terry Boot died during the battle and Cho Chang succumbed to her injuries two weeks ago. Also, Professor Flitwick passed away last week."

"How many?" Harry asked as his head began to swarm with names and faces.

"24 Americans, Corner, Hannah, Flint, Padma, Zachary, Dean, Terry, Cho, and Professor Flitwick since you passed out. That's 33 people." Xavier answered grimly.

"Wow. Did we have a service of some kind?"

"Yes. Two days after the castle fell." Xavier said simply.

"OK." Suddenly, Harry decided that he wasn't going to let this break him. "What do we do next?"

Xavier looked at Harry with surprise.

"I know you've been out of this for awhile but think about this. Winter is coming, we have nowhere to stay. Volde-" Xavier was saying when he was interrupted by Denis Creevey.

"Xavier, we've got those reports that you wanted."

"Let's hear it." Xavier said with a rough sigh. Harry didn't like what he was hearing before he was interrupted.

"The same ones as before and then Italy, France, Turkey, Mali, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Canada. Civil wars have been started in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil with one side openly supporting Lord Voldemort. Of these countries, only Spain, Brazil, and Canada have any opposing them. He's actually been celebrated in Italy where the Pureblood tendencies are even worse than here."

"Where's he looking next?"

"The United States in an obvious target. Syria, Iran, and India are all rumored to have Death Eaters or their supporters in prominent government positions. With his current place, he'll control or be in position to control nearly half the world by the end of 2007."

"Thanks, Denis." Xavier responded dismissively. Xavier looked over than Harry had ever seen him.

After Denis left, Harry laid into him.

"What the hell were you saying?" Harry yelled.

"Harry, keep your voice down." Xavier shot back sharply. "As you just heard, Voldemort is taking over. He's completely in control of Europe. We have nowhere to live and nowhere to run to."

"So what are we supposed to do? Just hide here?" Harry asked in anger.

"What do you think we've been doing for three months, Harry? People don't want to go out there anymore. It's not safe. There's no way I'm going to risk losing more people so we can fight a battle that can't be won!"

In a flash, silence permeated the air.

"Can't be won?"

"Harry..." Xavier replied low.

"CAN'T BE WON? He's one wizard! Merlin is one more! All we need is one opportunity to take them out and we can do it!"

"We can, Harry? Neither Voldemort or Merlin has been seen since the attack here. This is not like the last time, Harry. Voldemort isn't out putting himself on the line. He's hiding in his office and he's leading his troops. Getting to him would mean organizing an enormous force! One that he thought could actually threaten him!"

Xavier looked up and saw the look in Harry's face. He knew it meant trouble.

"What? You want to try that?"

"Not just that. You remember Thor?"

"Yeah. What does he have to do with this?"

"Well, just before we went to Antarctica, I was in the library, cross-referencing Merlin's notes and that book we found with other texts. Do you want to know what I found?"

"Of course!"

"Mjolnir." Harry said, as if it held the keys to the world.

"What?"

"Remember how we'd been hearing rumors that Voldemort was looking for something again. I think this is it. It was the Hammer that Thor carried with him. It also housed his wand in the handle. It is also suspected to have the power to grant power to someone who is worthy."

"What does this have to do with us?"

"If we can collect as many people as possible and discover the location of this item, we attack it. Voldemort will obviously panic, especially if this is really what he's looking for. We draw him out and we attack him and take him down."

Harry could see Xavier thinking it over.

"How are we going to do more research?"

"We'll need the records from the Ministry. If this item ever existed, there'll be a record of it there. There's one on the Elder Wand so the Hammer has to have one as well."

"We'll need a diversion." Xavier said with a grin that reminded him very much of the best man for the job.

"George."

"Of course." Xavier replied. Then, his grin faded. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to get so negative. We just haven't won anything yet and I couldn't imagine a way that we could."

Harry leaned in towards Xavier, resting on his cane.

"As long as we fight, he hasn't won anything either."

With that, Xavier and Harry went to work planning how to retrieve the files from the Ministry. In their head, they both understood the risk they were taking. But, they also knew that it was for the best. They had to try because if they didn't try, they already failed and the world is basked in darkness. There was still a glimmer of hope and that's all they needed.

**HARRY POTTER WILL RETURN AGAIN IN "MJOLNIR: HARRY POTTER AND THE HAMMER OF THOR"**


End file.
